one out of thirty

That's how many American's are in the correctional system...3.2% Isn't it ironic that a country that prides itself on being so "free" (and blames others' "jealousy" of that freedom for any attacks -- literal or figurative) locks up or otherwise keeps under it's watchful eye so many of it's citizens?

From the NY Times:

The number of Americans under the control of the criminal justice system grew by 130,700 last year to reach a new high of nearly 6.9 million, according to a Justice Department report released today.

The total includes people in jail and prison as well as those on probation and parole. This is about 3.2 percent of the adult population in the United States, the report said.

The growth in what the report termed the "correctional population" comes at a time when the crime rate nationwide has been relatively stable for several years. It also comes when many states, faced with budget deficits, have passed new, less strict sentencing laws in an attempt to reduce the number of inmates.