Some staggering statistics

The following information comes from a story in today's New York Times:

• One in every 31 adults in the United States is in prison, on parole or probation.
• At a time when states are facing huge budget shortfalls, prisons, which hold 1.5 million adults, are still being built yet they cost far more per convict than community supervision.
• A survey of 34 states found that states spent an average of $29,000 a year on prisoners compared to $1,250 on probationers and $2,750 on parolees.
• One in 11 African-Americans are under correctional control, one in 27 Latinos, and one in 45 white people are in prison, jail, or under correctional supervision. Only one out of 89 women is behind bars or monitored, compared to one out of 18 men.