For every 100,000 inhabitants in the US there are 743 people in prison[1]. In Norway the figure is 73[2]. California spends 9.4% of its budget on prisons[3], which is more than what is spent on higher education (7.1%)[4].<p>In Norway prison time can almost be seen as a holiday[5]; time to think about life; time to reconsider your options in life. In California, it's the same, but the options are mostly criminal.<p>In Denmark, Sweden and Finland, the average reoffend rate is 30 per cent[6]. In Norway it is 20 per cent[6]. In California the corresponding figure is 65.1% [6][7].<p>I think it is time for a reform:
<a href="http://www.laprogressive.com/prison-industrial-complex-california/" rel="nofollow">http://www.laprogressive.com/prison-industrial-complex-calif...</a><p>[1] <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_Sta...</a><p>[2] <a href="http://www.prisonstudies.org/info/worldbrief/wpb_stats.php?area=all&category=wb_poprate" rel="nofollow">http://www.prisonstudies.org/info/worldbrief/wpb_stats.php?a...</a><p>[3] <a href="http://www.laprogressive.com/prison-industrial-complex-california/" rel="nofollow">http://www.laprogressive.com/prison-industrial-complex-calif...</a><p>[4] <a href="http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/StateAgencyBudgets/6013/agency.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/StateAgencyBudgets/6013/agency.htm...</a><p>[5] <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1384308/Norways-controversial-cushy-prison-experiment--catch-UK.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1384308/Norw...</a><p>[6] <a href="http://www.whatthefolly.com/2012/01/03/californias-recidivism-rate-drops-but-remains-one-of-the-nations-highest/" rel="nofollow">http://www.whatthefolly.com/2012/01/03/californias-recidivis...</a><p>[7] <a href="http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Adult_Research_Branch/Research_Documents/ARB_FY_0607_Recidivism_Report_(11-23-11).pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Adult_Research_Branch/Research_Docume...</a>
"That’s how it should work. That’s staying true to our principles and the best evidence that he hasn’t changed society."<p>These are the words I was happy to hear.