WEBVTT - How Many Americans Know Someone in Jail or Prison?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff. Lauren vogelbam here if hot dogs, baseball,

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<v Speaker 1>and apple pie are part of the quintessential American experience. Sadly,

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<v Speaker 1>Matt's incarceration may not be far behind. A study published

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<v Speaker 1>in Stage Journals in March of twenty nineteen showed that

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<v Speaker 1>nearly half of all U s citizens have an immediate

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<v Speaker 1>family member that is, a spouse, parents, sibling, or child

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<v Speaker 1>who has been incarcerated for at least one night. The study,

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<v Speaker 1>which was led by Cornell researchers, is the first ever

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<v Speaker 1>to pinpoint the percentage of American families touched by the

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<v Speaker 1>country's prison system. Researchers surveyed more than four thousand subjects

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<v Speaker 1>who were representative of the country's makeup as a whole,

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<v Speaker 1>to find out whether they had family members who had

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<v Speaker 1>ever spent time in jail or prison. The study leaders

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<v Speaker 1>thought that the number might hover around, but the real

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<v Speaker 1>figures shocked them. But we spoke via email with Peter Ends,

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<v Speaker 1>the lead study author. He said, we were very surprised

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<v Speaker 1>that nearly one in two adults have had an immediate

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<v Speaker 1>family members spend at least one night in jail or prison,

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<v Speaker 1>that siblings were the most common immediate family member to

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<v Speaker 1>have been incarcerated, and that even among the most educated,

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<v Speaker 1>those with a bachelor's degree or more, almost one in

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<v Speaker 1>three that's thirty percent, have had an immediate family member

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<v Speaker 1>spend time in jail or prison. America has the world's

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<v Speaker 1>highest incarceration rate, with more than two point two million

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<v Speaker 1>people jailed or imprisoned akin to jailing the entire population

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<v Speaker 1>of the city of Houston. College educated white people were

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<v Speaker 1>the least likely to encounter this phenomenon. According to the study,

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<v Speaker 1>just fifteen percent of them had a family member in

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<v Speaker 1>jail or prison. On the flip side, about sixty percent

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<v Speaker 1>of African Americans and people with lower levels of education

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<v Speaker 1>had close experiences with the prison system. However, fifty percent

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<v Speaker 1>of African Americans with college degrees still had a relative

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<v Speaker 1>who had been jailed or imprisoned. Ends attributes the high

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<v Speaker 1>percentage of Americans with incarcerated family members to a number

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<v Speaker 1>of factors. The length of prison sentences handed out in

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<v Speaker 1>the United States, the country's tendency to impose prison sentences

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<v Speaker 1>rather than treatment. It's very rigid parole system that leads

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<v Speaker 1>many to return to prison, often without the commission of

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<v Speaker 1>new crimes, and the high level of pre trial incarceration.

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<v Speaker 1>About twenty years ago, the majority of people arrested on

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<v Speaker 1>even felony charges were released without posting bail, But since then,

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<v Speaker 1>bail bonds have exploded into an industry where two billion

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<v Speaker 1>dollars per year, and people who can't afford to pay

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<v Speaker 1>can wind up spending long stints in local jails awaiting trial.

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<v Speaker 1>You can listen to our episode Is There a Better

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<v Speaker 1>Alternative to cash bail? From March for more on that subject.

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<v Speaker 1>The authors of the current study hope that their research

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<v Speaker 1>will remove some of the stigma of incarceration by showing

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<v Speaker 1>how widespread it is, and said sentences were both non

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<v Speaker 1>violent and violent crimes need to be reduced. We also

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<v Speaker 1>need a correctional system that helps prepare those who are

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<v Speaker 1>incarcerated return to society and supports these individuals when they're release.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Nathan Chandler and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is a

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