There are now 2.24 million people behind bars in the United States. According to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, released today, the number of people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails jumped by more than 60,000 in the year ending June 30, 2006. That jump represents the largest increase since 2000.
The U.S. continues to rank first among all nations in both total prison/jail population and per capita incarceration rates -- with about 5 percent of the world's population...
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