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Pennsylvania's prison population grew much faster than any other state's from 2007 to 2008

By Real Cost of Prisons Project (The Sentencing Project)

Pa. prison population shows big growth By Peter Mucha December 9, 2009 INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Pennsylvania's prison population grew much faster than any other state's from 2007 to 2008, according to figures released by the Justice Department this week. While the state and federal inmate count increased less than 1 percent nationwide - the lowest rate in eight years - Pennsylvania's was up 9.1 percent, well ahead of the 4.9 percent of second-place Arizona. It was no one-year anomaly, said Susan McNaughton, press secretary for the state Department of Corrections. "We've been experiencing this population growth for quite a while, and we're at a point where we're running low on bed space," she said. Because of overcrowding, about 500 prisoners have been transferred to county prisons, and the state is seeking accommodations for 2,000 others in at least one other state, she said...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog on December 10, 2009 (boomark / email).