Why does the USA imprison so many of its population?

The three strikes rule is there for reasons other than justice, and people know damn well this is the case, the cause not the cure for America, and it's criminal behaviour.

"Felony" imprisonment, is essential in America, because there is a form of slavery in Prison there, whereby the work in these institutes is a method of undercutting the Mexican cheap imports, nearly 21% of all office furniture is made in US prisons, all mailbags are sown there, all licence plates are made there, all parts of some cars are made there, it is a system that is responsible for 20% of ALL American manufacturing goods, and about 15% of all farm production for export as well, in total, add in 10% of all roads built, and you see where this is going.

Allowing America to export, and undercut, all foreign manufacturers, without paying decent wages or taxes from wages, and that will not change, it is also utter humbug on lawmakers parts, that this helps any but the owners of the products made here, ( all of which are private firms supplying the tools and materials, and has been going on for years, where many wardens use these people as slaves and farm them out, to local businesses, and pocket the costs they charge for their services look up the films of Robert Redford where he plays a prison warder who goes into a prison, as a prisoner to see what is really happening, and you will find that the prior warder was doing just that, hiring prisoners out as labourers to his brother on his farming business, then watch Morgan Freeman, in the "Shawshank Redemption", and see this going on here as well, the Robert Redford movie is an actual life story, as well, not fiction, and included murder of prisoners who tried to stop this abuse, or who put the warder and friends at risk, in their financial jiggery pokery...

It seems, that the great unwashed public, accept this as part of society, so there is little disagreement, because most believe that it will never happen to them, got some bad news there, people, it does, and you can not sue the government, by law, for compensation, that's the law, you do not get anything back for all the wasted years and face solitary in cramped lightless rooms/cellars if you refuse to work, for every one elses supper, and profits, as well...nothing to do with justice here, just good old American profit motives, the thing that made America great,.

Yeah, right !!!

Back door slavery is there, and it is there to stay, and rehabilitation ?, forgiveness ?, decency ?, ha ha ha,

but justice in three strikes ?, who are we kidding here ?

Perhaps the three strike rule, is because Americans lack the capacity to understand anything more complex, in terms of penal culture, or rehabilitation of offenders, and reintroducing them into society as functioning adults.....

Because we have a high crime rate. And since we've locked so many up, our crime rates have fallen year after year. We don't lock them up because they're poor, but because they've violated the law. And, most often, the people that are their victims are also the poor and disadvantaged. But simply being poor does not cause criminal activity. Culture plays a very large part of the picture. And so does the fact that so many poor are born to single parents outside of wedlock. There are plenty of poor groups in America who have prospered because of cultural stress on family, education and achievement. Your assumptions about American society do not hold water.

3 strikes apply if you have a couple of "felonies" against you. Then ANY crime you commit, even a minor one will apply for the 3rd strike.

Good idea as far as I am concerned.

If you are stupid enough to commit a further crime when you know you are on your last chance then you deserve everything you get.

Unlike the UK where you can have a list of 25+ convictions and still get away with a slap on the wrists.

The 3 strikes law does ake a lot of sense but it should be 3 felonies or a violent crime, i think those shoplifting and minor offences are crazy too. 79% of the people in jail are drug addicts and with all the programs we have people need to take advantage.

I do believe the justice system in America could be the best system in the world however, We have the dumbest lawyers , judges, and lawmakers I have ever seen. There is a right and a wrong and too many times I have seen the wrong get away with it because the justice system blows it. Justice is not blind and if you have money you know this, Right O>J>

I can't really answer as to why, but I do think we need to fix this as well, for what it's worth.@ When first considered, the three strikes law was supposed to only apply to violent crime, but apparently was "morphed" to include all felonies, even "victimless crimes."

I think we should look at other systems, find the most effective one and adopt THAT policy. I think this should extend to other government problems as well.

They are in jail due to the fact that they broke the law. Letting career criminals loose on the streets is just a super way to fix all af America's problems...Yeah right. Our justice system isn't perfect, as a matter of fact it can be down right inefficient, however without it this country would be a worse disaster than it already is.

Part of the problem is cultural...

We Americans are that the most important thing you can do in your life is accumulate wealth, power and status...

And its very tempting for people to attain those things by any way they can, be it legal or not...

Hence a lot of drug dealing, street violence, theft, and shop lifting...

We are also taught that we should have unlimited freedoms, the rules don't apply to us etc, hence a lot of drugs, statutory rape, etc

Because they have so many criminals.

If you knew you were under the 3 strikes and you are out rule, had already been caught twice, would you then risk going out and steal tapes worth $1.60? They also have a lot of stupid people, obviously.

Because too many people buy into the mass hysteria about crime threatening them incessantly, fed by the media and the security industry.

They vote for those judges and public representatives who are seen to be "hard on crime", without any regard for the facts.

And no, it makes no sense, it neither deters people from crime, nor does it protect society.

All it does is giving people a spurious sense of security (and satisfying their lust for vengeance).