Sunday, December 28, 2008

Florida prison population tops 100,000


TALLAHASSEE (AP): Officials say Florida's prison population has topped 100,000 for the first time, making it only the third state in the nation to break into six digits.


The Department of Corrections said the news came Thursday at about 8 a.m. At 100,000, Florida's prison population roughly equals incarcerating one out of every four residents of Miami or almost all the citizens of Gainesville, home to the University of Florida.


California and Texas are the only other states that incarcerate more than 100,000 people. California has approximately 170,000 behind bars; Texas 155,000.


Nationwide 1.5 million people were in U.S. prisons in 2005, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28320313/

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