If those on probation and parole are added, the figure climbs to nearly 6.5 million, or one in every 32 adults, according to a report from the same bureau, titled "Probation and Parole," which was released last September.

Just over 7,000 of those held in adult prisons are under 18 years old. And more than 88,000 of those incarcerated are citizens of other countries.

According to the report, an estimated 12 percent of Black males in their twenties and early thirties are in jail. That compares with 1.6 percent for white males in the same age group, and 4 percent of Latinos.

The rate of imprisonment in the United States is more than seven times higher than that of a number of other imperialist countries. In Germany, Italy, and Denmark, for example, fewer than 100 of 100,000 residents are in jail. The U.S. incarceration rate has risen steadily at an average of nearly 4 percent since 1995.

Most of this explosion in the prison population occurred during the eight years of the Democratic administration of President William Clinton. With bipartisan support in Congress, Clinton signed legislation expanding mandatory prison sentences and increasing their length. Clinton also reduced protections against arbitrary search and seizure by the cops and courts, and financed a record increase in the number of police on the streets. The policies of President George Bush have followed in the direction set by Clinton. The U.S. rulers have accelerated their "get tough on crime" campaign over the last decade as part of a broader offensive against workers’ rights and civil liberties.

Following the lead of the federal government, many states instituted various "three-strike" rules, which require judges to impose the maximum sentence on the accused if he or she has two previous felony convictions.

Another measure that has helped swell the number of inmates is the wider use of "mandatory sentencing," imposing a set number of years for various offenses, regardless of the circumstances.

In March of this year, the Supreme Court upheld California’s "three-strike" law, rejecting appeals by men sentenced to 50 years and 25 years for petty theft. Two prisoners had challenged the constitutionality of the 1994 legislation. One was Leandro Andrade, who had been sentenced to 50 years without parole for stealing children’s videotapes. The other was Gary Ewing, who got 25 years for taking some golf clubs.

Lawyers for the two men argued that their convictions violated the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bars "cruel and unusual punishment." They both lost in 5-4 rulings by the Supreme Court justices.  
 
 
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