If the U.S. Public Knew about Its Prisons

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Of all the developments in 12 years of Reagan and Bush, one of the least known is the astonishing increase of people in prison. The number of federal prisoners more than tripled, from 24,500 to 80,259. The total number of prisoners grew from 329,821 in 1980 to 883,593 in 1992 - an increase of 167.9 percent.

The upward trend has not leveled off despite mounting criticism. In 1992, federal prisoners increased by 8,651, while there were 50,809 additional state prisoners. This translates into a need for 1,143 new prison beds each week. In 1990, more people were admitted to prisons for drug offenses than for property crimes.

All these factors make melancholy reading in a …