Too Many Are Touched by the System

“OP-ED: Too Many Are Touched by the System” by Marc Schindler

To read this article on the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange website, click here.

It’s tragic that so many people can say they have been touched by the U.S. prison system. A great uncle here, a brother there, a younger nephew or niece, and for far too many from our most vulnerable communities, they can point the finger at themselves.

In fact, 1 in 34 adults were under some form of correctional control in 2010, and nearly 71,000 youth were held in confinement, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, ONE IN 34 U.S. ADULTS UNDER CORRECTIONAL SUPERVISION IN 2011, LOWEST RATE SINCE 2000, NOVEMBER 29, 2012, http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/cpus11ppus11pr.cfm)