In which our intrepid hero is abruptly reminded that not everybody can come and go as they please…

Ohio has over 50,000 inmates in its state prison system, close to its all-time high.  Ohio’s prison population is ranked 6th in the nation in size (Ohio is the 7th most populous state).   The prison population has grown by about 33% in the past 20 years, during a time when the population of the state itself has increased only slightly.  In this, Ohio is representative of a huge problem in the United States:  the high rate of incarceration (the highest in the entire world, which is a sad and remarkable fact).  It didn’t used to be like this; the incarceration rate was quite low through the history of the United States until the 1980s, when it began to precipitously rise.  Longer prison sentences, mandatory minimum sentences, a lack of rehabilitation programs, the heavy criminalization of crack cocaine, and other factors combined to create this serious problem—a problem most people don’t know or care about (if you are interested in prison issues, I strongly recommend subscribing to Prison Legal News).  I came across an example of Ohio’s high rate of incarceration myself on this excursion.

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