How many people have to be under direct supervision of law enforcement before you have a police state?

…it’s a bigger, though far less remarked-upon, injustice than any that are involved in the War on Terrorism.

And that’s a snippet of Glenn Reynolds’ take. Read the rest.

Go get the breakdown at TalkLeft: 1 of Every 32 Adults Now in Prison.

This quote stands out:

“The overall figures suggest that we’ve come to rely on the criminal justice system as a way of responding to social problems in a way that’s unprecedented”

But of course. The sad thing is… do you realize that the average guy on the street believes that’s the way it should be? A huge majority of people I know simply believe that if people break laws – they should go to jail. Little attention is spent on the reasons why people break laws in the first place anymore. Or if the laws broken are even valid… like how many drug users instead of drug dealers get jailed?