Harry Potter and the Federal Prisoner of Azkaban

Critical Analysis

1. According to the horrifying chart above, about how much did the number of sentenced inmates in the federal prison population grow between 1975 and 2005?

2. Identify some of the main causes of the growth in the U.S. federal prison population?

3. What type of prison in the United States is not included in the data from the chart above?

4. The U.S. penal population of 2.2 million adults is by far the largest in the world. Just under one-quarter of the world's prisoners are held in American prisons. We’re number one! Explain whether you think that is good.

5. The U.S. rate of incarceration, with nearly 1 out of every 100 adults in prison or jail, is 5 to 10 times higher than the rates in Western Europe and other democracies. Why do you think we have so many more prisoners than other countries that are economically and politically similar to the U.S.?

6. The U.S. prison population is largely drawn from the most disadvantaged part of the nation's population: mostly men under age 40, disproportionately minority, and poorly educated. In the United States Blacks are incarcerated at about 5 times the rate of Whites. The racial and ethnic makeup of U.S. prisons continues to look substantially different from the demographics of the country as a whole. In 2018, black Americans represented 33% of the sentenced prison population, nearly triple their 12% share of the U.S. adult population. Whites accounted for 30% of prisoners, about half their 63% share of the adult population. Hispanics accounted for 23% of inmates, compared with 16% of the adult population. Why do you think we disproportionately incarcerate people of color?

7. Did you know that over 550,000 are locked up who have not been convicted or sentenced? Many of them are detained because they can’t afford to pay bail. Do you think people should be imprisoned for being poor?

8. Between 1987 and 2007 state spending on incarceration increased 6 x faster than spending on higher education. How has that impacted you?

9. There are many factors that explain the size of the federal prison population, still, presidents can help set federal criminal justice policies, and those policies can affect the prison population. Describe one specific action President Biden could take to lower the number of federal prisoners.

10. Learn about incarceration in your state and share what you learned in class or online.

Learning Extension

Read an excerpt of the Introduction of The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander’s powerful and amazing story of mass incarceration. Then do yourself a favor and buy The New Jim Crow and read the whole thing.

Action Extension

Contact President Biden and express your opinion about the size of the federal prison population.

Visual Extension