"The United States is the world leader in incarceration. We imprison 716 people out of every 100,000 - compare that to Canada (118), France (101), Mexico (210), Japan (51)... even Russia can only manage a prison population rate of 472. The total US prison population is over 2.25 million, greater than the population of 100 different countries. In fact, if the US prison system were a country, it would be the 142nd most populous nation on earth, falling between Jamaica and Namibia. But besides comparisons based on sheer numbers, what might we learn if we viewed prison as a country? In A Country Called Prison, Mary Looman and John Carl will use this question as the starting point for a novel thought experiment"-- Provided by publisher.
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