Is the U.S. really the most "free" country of the world?

[svedski]

Originally Posted by lookintomove15

It's alot of those Southern States that lead the U.S. in putting people behind bars like Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas.

States of Incarceration: The Global Context | Prison Policy Initiative

Louisiana is the world’s prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in the world.

U.S. State Incarceration Rates
1. Louisiana 1341
2. Mississippi 1155
3. Oklahoma 1081
4. Georgia 1074
5. Texas 1063
6. Arizona 1060
7. Kentucky 948
8. South Carolina 900
9. West Virginia 895
10. Florida 891
11. Arkansas 886
12. New Mexico 870
13. Alabama 861
14. Virginia 815
15. Colorado 807
16. South Dakota 777
17. Pennsylvania 770
18. Indiana 751
19. Tennessee 740
20. Nevada 737
21. Delaware 719
21. Idaho 719
United States of America 716
23. Missouri 701
24. California 689
25. Wisconsin 670
26. Ohio 664
27. North Carolina 647
28. Wyoming 634
29. Kansas 631
30. Michigan 628
31. Maryland 621
32. District of Columbia 598
33. Alaska 592
34. Oregon 580
35. Connecticut 561
36. Illinois 552
37. Montana 540
38. New Jersey 506
39. New York 492
40. Washington 475
41. Utah 458
42. Nebraska 443
43. Iowa 437
44. Hawaii 417
45. Minnesota 385
46. Massachusetts 377
47. North Dakota 370
48. New Hampshire 368
49. Rhode Island 359
50. Puerto Rico 348
51. Maine 277
52. Vermont 254

I put the Southern States in bold.

Typical Obama-loving dumbass. Why is it against personal freedom to be incarcerated for committing a crime? Do you suggest we keep murderers out of jail to let them have their personal freedom? How about the personal freedom of the normal people that don't commit crimes? Why should they be punished?

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by svedski

Typical Obama-loving dumbass. Why is it against personal freedom to be incarcerated for committing a crime? Do you suggest we keep murderers out of jail to let them have their personal freedom? How about the personal freedom of the normal people that don't commit crimes? Why should they be punished?

Why the name calling? How do you explain the disparity then? Why is it that some states have significantly lower incarceration rates? I personally don't believe that if you're convicted of murder in Washington State that the judge will just let you go. To me, this suggest that those southern states with high rates quite likely are putting people in jail for frivolous reasons rather than the other states allowing dangerous people to walk around, just sayin'.