Entry Seven

Day Twenty

(fax)

There are some surprising facts you may no be aware of when it comes to the American prison system. Some things like 

• There are more African Americans in some form of correctional supervision today than there were slaves in 1850.
• The incarceration rates for minorities are almost six times more likely than those of white men
• Even a non violent offender in a "minimum security" prison costs taxpayers, on average, $22,000 a year. All prisoners in total cost taxpayers nearly seventy billion dollars per year.
• The United States has more prisoners than the entire population of New Mexico

All of these facts are interesting but there are two in specific that are both relevant to my documentary and absolutely ridiculous in my opinion: There are more jails than colleges in the U.S and 41% of all young people in America will have been arrested by the time they are 23.

These are some facts I would like to present in my documentary is some form, whether it be as a marketing strategy on my website or included as narration. 

This following info graphic compacts information relating exactly to Omar, minority juveniles who became imprisoned.

info graphic from SuspensionStories.com

Snyder, Michael. "Mass Incarceration: 21 Amazing Facts About America's Obsession With Prison." Infowars. American Dream, 28 July 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Borowski, Julie. "18 Facts You Need to Know About U.S. Prisons." Newsweek. Freedom Works, 18 Mar. 2016. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.