5 Fast facts you should know

1) Louisiana has the highest reported rate of imprisonment in the world.

The U.S. has the highest reported rate of imprisonment in the world and Louisiana has by far the highest out of all U.S. states.

See for yourself:

• http://prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison-population-total?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All
• http://www.apcca.org/uploads/10th_Edition_2013.pdf
• http://www.sentencingproject.org/the-facts/#map?dataset-option=SIR

2)Imprisoning a human being is really expensive, no matter what!

Think about it: 24 hour surveillance, food, clothing, etc. Although Louisiana keeps prison costs down, 38,000+ people in our state behind bars (with many more on parole) means that a massive amount of state funds are gobbled up: $824 million in 2016!

See for yourself:

• https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NASBO/9d2d2db1-c943-4f1b-b750-0fca152d64c2/UploadedImages/SER%20Archive/State%20Expenditure%20Report%20(Fiscal%202014-2016)%20-%20S.pdf
• http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/09/louisiana_prison_costs.html

3) More than 54% of all people imprisoned in Louisiana are non-violent offenders. We have the harshest sentencing laws in the country.

See for yourself:

• http://www.doc.la.gov/media/1/Briefing%20Book/Jan%202017/demographics.jan.17.pdf
• http://www.thepelicanpost.org/2016/08/25/louisiana-locks-up-more-nonviolent-offenders-than-neighboring-states-without-achieving-lower-crime-rates/

4) Even Louisiana’s former Republican Senator John Hainkel, who ushered in tough sentencing laws and mass incarceration, admits it doesn’t work!

See for yourself:

• http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=130443&page=1

5) So why is this happening?

One important reason: Owners and operators of for-profit/business prisons want to continue funding their operations.

See for yourself:

• http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/05/louisiana_is_the_worlds_prison.html

Want to do something about this?

Your officials do too! But they need your encouragement. Contact them now, in any way you see fit, to let them know that they should free Louisiana!

Governor John Bel Edwards

Call: (225)342-7015

Message: http://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/form/home/4

Senator Bill Cassidy

Call: (202) 224-5824

Message: https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/contact

Senator John Kennedy

Call: (202) 224-4623

Message: https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/content/contact-senator