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Article Three, Section Two of the United States Constitution provides: Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury . . . . [23] The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a . . . trial, by an impartial jury . . . . [24]
A 2014 report by the National Research Council identified two main causes of the increase in the United States' incarceration rate over the previous 40 years: longer prison sentences and increases in the likelihood of imprisonment. The same report found that longer prison sentences were the main driver of increasing incarceration rates since 1990.
In 2015, the prison population was estimated at 2.2 million people. [2] There has been a rapid increase in the prison population since the 1980s. [3] However, violent crime has significantly decreased from the years 1973 to 2003. [3] In the United States, the majority of inmates are people of color and from low socioeconomic backgrounds. [4]
Reading of the United States Constitution of 1787. The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. [3] It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constitution delineates the frame of the federal government.
On January 1, 2008 more than 1 in 100 adults in the United States were in prison or jail. [7] [8] Total U.S. incarceration peaked in 2008. [5] The U.S. incarceration rate was the highest in the world in 2008. [4] It is no longer the highest rate. [9] The United States has one of the highest rates of female incarceration. [10]
The study estimated that if US incarceration rates were increased by 10 percent, the crime rate would decrease by at least 2 percent. However, this action would be extremely costly to implement. [41] Another study found that three-strikes laws discourage criminals from committing misdemeanors for fear of a life prison sentence.
To give an example, the average burglary sentence in the United States is 16 months, compared to 5 months in Canada and 7 months in England. [30] The US incarceration rate peaked in 2008 when about 1,000 in 100,000 U.S. adults were behind bars. That's 760 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents of all ages.
In the United States, life imprisonment is the most severe punishment provided by law in states with no valid capital punishment statute, and second-most in those with a valid statute. According to a 2013 study, one of every 2,000 prison inhabitants of the U.S. were imprisoned for life as of 2012. [1]