More Blacks Going to Prison in 17 Key Election States

Prison spending grew five times as fast as spending for higher education in the past 20 years, according to a report released Wednesday examining prison growth in 17 states considered key to this year's presidential election. And with the growing prison and jail population, nearly twice as many black men in their early 30s have been to prison as have obtained a bachelor's degree, according to the report by the non-profit Justice Policy Institute based in Washington, D.C. "Prisons are growing, education is suffering and the African-American community hit hardest is increasingly shut out of the debate," Vincent Schiraldi, the institute's executive director and a co-author of the report, said in a statement. "As presidential candidates mine these states for votes, voters need to hear about how they intend to create a more balanced approach to crime that doesn't rob education to fund prisons." [more ]