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New Study Indicates Annual Cost of Incarceration Exceeds $1 Trillion
Loaded on Dec. 5, 2017
by Audry Spade
published in Prison Legal News
December, 2017, page 57
Filed under:
Cost of Prison Systems.
Location:
United States of America.
by Audry Spade
A new research study has estimated the total cost of incarceration in the United States has surged to a staggering $1 trillion per year – 11 times the $80 billion spent annually on corrections alone, and 6% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
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More from this issue:
- California Prisons Struggle with Environmental Threats from Sewage Spills, Contaminated Water, Airborne Disease, by Rick Anderson
- News in Brief
- Volunteers, Mayor Take Action to Clothe Freezing Prisoners in New York City, by Christopher Zoukis
- $10.25 Million Jury Award in Suit over Oklahoma Jail Prisoner’s Death, by Matthew Clarke
- Study Tracks Decline in Use of Solitary Confinement as Reform Bill Stalls in U.S. Senate, by Lonnie Burton
- New Study Indicates Annual Cost of Incarceration Exceeds $1 Trillion, by Audry Spade
- Prison Tattoos Tell a Story, by David Reutter
- Federal Judge Orders Cook County to Correct Courthouse ADA Violations, by Derek Gilna
- Most Black “Neighborhoods” in Wisconsin are Actually Jails, Prisons, by Christopher Zoukis
- Second Circuit Upholds $36 Million Jury Award, $5 Million in Fees in Wrongful Conviction Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Pressure from Advocacy Group Leads University of California to Partially Divest from Wells Fargo, by Christopher Zoukis
- Missouri DOC Director Replaced after String of Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuits
- Tenth Circuit Reinstates Suit over Failure to Provide Medical Treatment to Oklahoma Arrestee/Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
- Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoners’ Suit over Repeated Overnight Deprivation of Clothing
- Louisiana Death Sentence Reversed, Charges Dismissed, Lawsuit Filed, by David Reutter
- Tennessee: High Cost of Drugs Cited as Reason to Deny Prisoners Hep C Treatment, by David Reutter
- Innocence Project Emerging in Israel, by Christopher Zoukis
- State Sanctioned Murder: By the Numbers, by Christopher Zoukis
- Private Prison Company’s Announcement to Reduce Recidivism Criticized as PR Ploy
- Montana County Settles Suit over Prisoner’s Rape for $125,000
- Missouri Town Pays $1.2 Million to Settle Lawsuit over Jail Suicide, by Lonnie Burton
- Prisoners and Disabilities: The Legal Landscape, by Christopher Zoukis
- Prisoner’s Escape from Understaffed Private Prison Results in Staff Discipline, by Christopher Zoukis
- Study: Prison Spending Grew at Three Times the Rate of Education Spending over Last Three Decades, by Lonnie Burton
- Visitors to USP Leavenworth Turned Away Due to Disabilities
- Seventh Circuit: District Court Erred in Dismissing Prisoner’s § 1983 Suit for Failure to Exhaust, by Lonnie Burton
- $1.275 Million Settlement for Los Angeles County Jail Whistleblower, by Lonnie Burton
- New York Jail Agrees to End Solitary Confinement of Juveniles, by Matthew Clarke, Derek Gilna
- Vermont Supreme Court Upholds Rights of Jailhouse Lawyers, by Christopher Zoukis
- D.C. Man Subjected to 77 Days Overdetention; Marshals Service Denies Responsibility, by Monte McCoin
- Chicago Man Exonerated of Murder Awarded $13 Million after 22 Years in Prison, by Lonnie Burton
- Third Circuit: No Death Row Confinement after Death Sentences Vacated, by Christopher Zoukis
- Hawaii: OCCC Mental Health Care Fails, Prison Staff Fired, by Monte McCoin
- State Governors Grant Over 500 Pardons, Commutations, by Christopher Zoukis
- Pennsylvania: Philly D.A. Sentenced to Five Years for Corruption, Disbarred, by Monte McCoin
- Massachusetts: Reform Legislation Introduced after Study on Solitary Confinement Published, by Lonnie Burton
- Tennessee Judge Denies Summary Judgment Motion in Jail Suicide Suit; Case Settles, by Derek Gilna
- New Zealand Court Decision: Voting Ban Violates Human Rights of Prisoners, by Monte McCoin
- Seventh Circuit: Corizon May be Liable for Failure to Coordinate Medical Care, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit Denies Immunity to Police Officers, Jailers for Prisoner’s Death, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Sues Kitsap County, Washington over Debit Release Cards, by Derek Gilna
- Prisoners in Solitary Confinement Benefit from Nature Videos, Study Shows, by Monte McCoin
- Judge Orders Florida DOC to Immediately Start Treating Prisoners with HCV, by Derek Gilna
- First Circuit Reverses Convictions of Massachusetts Probation Officials, by Christopher Zoukis
- Study Indicates Racial Bias Skews Criminality Risk Assessment Tool
- Arizona: Mixed Rulings in Challenges to State’s Lethal Injection Protocol, by Lonnie Burton
- Georgia Prison Doctor Rewarded for Cutting Costs as Prisoners Died Under His Care, by David Reutter
- USP Atlanta Escapes Result in Convictions, by Monte McCoin
- In Midst of Opioid Crisis, an Addiction Medication Program for Federal Prisons Fizzles, by Mike Ludwig
- Federal Judge Expresses Frustration in New Orleans Jail Reform Litigation
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
More from Audry Spade:
More from these topics:
- Missouri Bill Increases Mandatory Minimums, Expands Prosecutors’ Role in Juvenile Court, July 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Prosecutors, State Legislation, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Mandatory Minimum Sentence.
- Number of Prisoners Awaiting Transfer from Jail Surging in Indiana, June 1, 2026. Transfers, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Overcrowding, Jail Specific.
- Arkansas Supreme Court Bows to Governor’s Board of Correction Takeover, June 1, 2026. Government Misconduct, Cost of Prison Systems, Settlements, State Legislation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- New Hampshire Officials Halt $700 Million Prison Replacement, May 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Plumbing, Sanitation, Vermin.
- Pennsylvania Closes Its Second-Oldest Prison, May 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Boot Camps, Plumbing, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Oklahoma DOC Paid Prison Guards $35.5 Million in Overtime in 2025, May 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Staffing, Staff Training.
- Trump Wants $152 Million to Turn Alcatraz Back Into a Prison, May 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Federal Legislation, Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
- Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its Mass Incarceration Report, May 1, 2026. Geriatric Classification, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Electronic Monitoring, Effects of Mass Incarceration.
- “Large Fight” Broke Out at Alaska Prison After Downsizing Effort, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding.
- Analysts Recommend Closing California’s Soledad Prison, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Cost of Prison Systems.

