NEW REPORT REVEALS KENTUCKY HAS SECOND HIGHEST PRISON INCARCERATION RATE IN THE WORLD
ONLY ONE INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY HAS HIGHER PRISON INCARCERATION RATE THAN KENTUCKY
JUNE 27, 2024 written by WADE QUEEN
According to a study released by the Prison Policy Initiative, which was released on Tuesday, June 25, it reported that Kentucky has a higher incarceration rate than any democratic country on earth. If Kentucky were its own country, the commonwealth would have a higher incarceration rate than any nation except El Salvador.
The Prison Policy Initiative is a non-profit, non-partisan group which produces cutting edge research to show the broader harm of mass criminalization, and spark advocacy campaigns.
Mike Wessler, who is the communication director for the Prison Policy Initiative, says they pull these numbers from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and The World Prison Brief, and they show that Kentucky has an incarceration rate of 898 per 100,000 residents.
As of the week of June 6, Kentucky has 32,334 people in custody throughout state, federal, and county facilities, according to state government data.
Some of the countries listed with lower incarceration rates than the states are dictatorial, which should highlight how extremely adverse the United State’s policies are, said Mike Wessler.
“With this report, we try to show this isn’t how it has to be, this is something that’s unique to America,” Mike Wessler said.
Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Baird says it’s hard to compare criminal justice systems that vary from state to state and country to country.
“It was hard to get the context of that because what are the other things that are happening in those other places that are keeping those incarceration rates down?” according to Kimberly Baird .
Ms. Baird stated that Kentucky’s lack of resources and alternative sentencing could be contributing to a high incarceration rate.
“Some people are committing crimes in order to go. Some don’t want to be paroled because they’re in a better situation. What education, what financial resources, what family resources, what counseling, what are we doing to help people succeed?” according to Ms. Baird.
Alternative sentencing is what consideration Terry Dumphord and Doyle Lee aim to offer through the group The Voyage Movement.
“To be honest, look at the literacy rate. We’re at the bottom tier of all 50 states, and so with no education, that means no resources, so they don’t even know the letter of the law,” said Doye Lee.
“For us, we teach financial literacy, we teach social development and spiritual development programs and we try to meet these young men where they’re at,” Terry Dumphord added.
Kentucky’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet stated that the Andrew Beshear-Jacqueline Coleman administration has been working to help those leaving incarceration successfully re-enter society.
While El Salvador has an incarceration rate higher than any U.S. state, nine states have the next-highest incarceration rates in the world, followed by Cuba.
Kentucky ranks seventh on the global list, just trailing behind Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Alabama.
Overall, 25 U.S. states and three nations — El Salvador, Cuba, and Rwanda — have incarceration rates even higher than the national incarceration rate of the United States, according to the report.
Some of the countries listed with lower incarceration rates than the states are dictatorial, which should highlight how extremely adverse the United State’s policies are.
The group’s report, States of Incarceration: The Global Context, has been published four times since the first edition in 2014. Kentucky has ranked in the top 10 for the past three editions.
Kentucky again ranked seventh in 2021, according to the group’s data. That year, the state had an incarceration rate of 930 per 100,000 people.
In 2018, report findings showed Kentucky ranked ninth with a rate of 869 per 100,000. The state ranked 14th in 2016.
Kentucky’s total correctional population in 2022 was 95,479 people, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. This includes 32,351 incarcerated people and another 63,128 who were on supervision, like probation or parole.
In 2018, report findings showed Kentucky ranked ninth with a rate of 869 per 100,000. The state ranked 14th in 2016.
Kentucky’s total correctional population in 2022 was 95,479 people, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. This includes 32,351 incarcerated people and another 63,128 who were on supervision, like probation or parole.
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