The Human Face of Overcriminalization

These disparities in our criminal justice aren’t caused only by racial prejudices. They often occur because minorities have fewer opportunities to receive a good education or achieve economic mobility and because so many young people in our cities are from broken homes. But another contributing factor is that local and state governments as well as the federal government have created an excessive number of criminally punishable offenses, believing this will keep our communities safe. In fact, our criminal code is so complex and vague that the experts tell us that the average American may commit as many as three felonies a day without even knowing it.

As a result, with more than 2 million men and women in our jails and prisons, this country has a higher incarceration rate than any other country in the world.