WASHINGTON (Dec. 9) -- Tough sentencing laws, record numbers of drug offenders and high crime rates have contributed to the United States having the largest prison population and the highest rate of incarceration in the world, according to criminal justice experts.
At the end of last year, the U.S. had 2.2 million people in jail, more than any other nation. One in every 32 American adults was in jail, on probation or on parole.
