1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:04,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:10,799 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff. Lauren vogelbam here if hot dogs, baseball, 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: and apple pie are part of the quintessential American experience. Sadly, 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,600 Speaker 1: Matt's incarceration may not be far behind. A study published 5 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,279 Speaker 1: in Stage Journals in March of twenty nineteen showed that 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: nearly half of all U s citizens have an immediate 7 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: family member that is, a spouse, parents, sibling, or child 8 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: who has been incarcerated for at least one night. The study, 9 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: which was led by Cornell researchers, is the first ever 10 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: to pinpoint the percentage of American families touched by the 11 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: country's prison system. Researchers surveyed more than four thousand subjects 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: who were representative of the country's makeup as a whole, 13 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:45,919 Speaker 1: to find out whether they had family members who had 14 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: ever spent time in jail or prison. The study leaders 15 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: thought that the number might hover around, but the real 16 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: figures shocked them. But we spoke via email with Peter Ends, 17 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: the lead study author. He said, we were very surprised 18 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: that nearly one in two adults have had an immediate 19 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,679 Speaker 1: family members spend at least one night in jail or prison, 20 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: that siblings were the most common immediate family member to 21 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,839 Speaker 1: have been incarcerated, and that even among the most educated, 22 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: those with a bachelor's degree or more, almost one in 23 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: three that's thirty percent, have had an immediate family member 24 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: spend time in jail or prison. America has the world's 25 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: highest incarceration rate, with more than two point two million 26 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: people jailed or imprisoned akin to jailing the entire population 27 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: of the city of Houston. College educated white people were 28 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,199 Speaker 1: the least likely to encounter this phenomenon. According to the study, 29 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: just fifteen percent of them had a family member in 30 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: jail or prison. On the flip side, about sixty percent 31 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: of African Americans and people with lower levels of education 32 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: had close experiences with the prison system. However, fifty percent 33 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: of African Americans with college degrees still had a relative 34 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: who had been jailed or imprisoned. Ends attributes the high 35 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: percentage of Americans with incarcerated family members to a number 36 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: of factors. The length of prison sentences handed out in 37 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: the United States, the country's tendency to impose prison sentences 38 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: rather than treatment. It's very rigid parole system that leads 39 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: many to return to prison, often without the commission of 40 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 1: new crimes, and the high level of pre trial incarceration. 41 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 1: About twenty years ago, the majority of people arrested on 42 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: even felony charges were released without posting bail, But since then, 43 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: bail bonds have exploded into an industry where two billion 44 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: dollars per year, and people who can't afford to pay 45 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: can wind up spending long stints in local jails awaiting trial. 46 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: You can listen to our episode Is There a Better 47 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 1: Alternative to cash bail? From March for more on that subject. 48 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: The authors of the current study hope that their research 49 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,359 Speaker 1: will remove some of the stigma of incarceration by showing 50 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,799 Speaker 1: how widespread it is, and said sentences were both non 51 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: violent and violent crimes need to be reduced. We also 52 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: need a correctional system that helps prepare those who are 53 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: incarcerated return to society and supports these individuals when they're release. 54 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Nathan Chandler and produced by 55 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other topics, 56 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is a 57 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio, 58 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you 59 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.