>http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=49398
A few quotes from that report:
"The fact that so many Americans, including hundreds of thousands who are a threat to no one, are incarcerated means that something is wrong with our criminal justice system and the way we deal with both dangerous criminals and those whose behavior we simply don't like." David Keene, President, American Conservative Union Personal communication February 5, 2009
"We have to fundamentally rethink prisons." Newt Gingrich American Enterprise Institute forum March 27, 2008
"What we've done with the laws we passed over the last 20 years is thrown our net out there too widely and picked up too many little fish. We filled our prisons with non-violent, first-time offenders, and with no noticeable increase in public safety." State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-PA) NCSL Roundtable September 26, 2008
"We are never going to build our way out of there being crime. We don't want to put that many people in jail, and we can't afford to." Chief District Court Judge Joseph Turner, Guildford County, NC Greensboro News and Record January 25, 2009