Sharp rise of incarceration

From the July- Aug 1990 Memo:

The U.S. has the 3^rd highest incarceration rate in the world, following only the Soviet Union and South Africa. The state and federal prison population has nearly doubled since 1981 reaching 673,565 incarcerated individuals as of June 1989. The sharp rise in the cost of maintaining such a large incarcerated population, combined with an escalated prison crowding problem, has forced some policymakers to think about alternative solutions to crime.

Delton Franz converses with Khalifa Ali, former executive secretary of the Mesereti Christos (Mennonite) Church of Ethiopia. Pastor Khalifa was imprisoned for an extended period of time in the 1980s as Christians were persecuted by the Mengistu regime (June 1989)