More than Russia, more than China, more than Iran.
Within the country, Louisiana consistently ranks among the top three states for per capita incarceration rates, year after year.
Access to education for prisoners varies greatly due to the lack of clear legal mandates requiring basic access to educational programs, books, or library services.
With that in mind, Louisiana Books 2 Prisoners dedicates itself to providing free educational and reading materials to prisoners in Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Our program mails out more than 4,500 books a year.
We hope to do even more in the future, and your donations and support are vital to our reaching that goal.
Facts about the U.S. prison system:
- 1 out of every 108 adults in the United States is incarcerated in a prison or jail.
- 1 out of every 50 adults in the United States is on probation or parole.
- This means that 1 out of every 35 adults, or 6.9 million people, are under some form of correctional supervision.
- Only 17% of prisoners have received some level of college education.
- This is in stark contrast to the general population, 56% of whom have received some level of college education.
- State and federal expenditures on prisons exceed 58.5 billion dollars every year. Education accounts for a fraction of these dollars, yet budget shortfalls have resulted in a steady reduction or elimination of prison academic and vocational programs.
