Mass Incarceration, Private Prisons, and the Homelessness Crisis in the United States

Homeless Encampment

The United States accounts for 5 percent of the world population. Despite having a nominal portion of the Earth’s population, the U.S. has an astounding 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated individuals. In 2016, there were approximately 2.2 million incarcerated individuals in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. This includes people incarcerated on…