Tackle the Shackles OUT for Life Streaming Live Podcast

MASS INCARCERATION Exists in the U.S. The total incarcerated population in the U.S. is a staggering 2.2 million — a 500% increase over the past 30 years. More than 96% of convictions in the federal system result from guilty pleas rather than decisions by juries.  A public defender will routinely have a caseload of more than 100 clients at a time. One in 4 prisoners were foster children. In the 1990s, marijuana possession accounted for nearly 80% of the spike in arrests. A first-time drug offense carries a sentence of 5-10 compared with other developed countries where that sentence would be six months of jail time, if any at all. One in 28 American children has a parent behind bars.   Additionally, 8% of the incarcerated in the U.S. are veterans while only 1-2% of our citizens serve, and more than half are there due to PTSD and substance abuse. Veterans are losing their freedom because of defending ours