As previously stated, overcrowding in United States prisons is a huge issue with no end in sight. Our prison population is at an all-time high for international and historical standards. Although one could claim that this is due to a rise in crime, data shows that the increase of the crime rate can only account for a small portion of the current overcrowding in U.S. prisons.  According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, from 1880-1970, incarceration rates were from about 100 or 200 per 100,000 people.  However, at around 1980, the very height of the drug war panic, the population of jails and prisons in the United States began to increase at a rapid rate.  As the public grew more hysteric and fearful of widespread drug use, a get tough on crime approach was adapted and more arrests were made. In fact, by 2008 the incarceration rate climbed to about 753 per 100,000 people. Harsher punishments for nonviolent crimes led to a rise in incarceration rates for crimes that historically, an individual would not have been prosecuted for. 
Traditionally, nonviolent offenders received shorter prison sentences than violent offenders.  However, mandates such as mandatory minimum sentences have increased the overpopulation in prisons and eliminated the discretionary practices of judges.  A lack of discretion could be seen as a beneficial aspect to mandatory minimums, eliminating racial and economic biases which are frequently seen in the judicial system.  However, discretion is in turn transferred to prosecutors, who are given the power to determine which certain charges which will require a mandatory minimum prison sentence.  In addition to mandatory minimums, mandates such as three-strikes state statues have contributed to the rise in incarceration rates, and thus to the overcrowding in prisons.  The three-strike statute allows states to dole out harsher punishments to repeat offenders who have committed three separate felonies.  Three strikes and you’re out.  These types of mandates were aimed at career criminals, or individuals who make their living by committing criminal acts.   In these cases, incarceration serves its purpose by keeping career criminals from committing more crimes out on the streets. The state of California, for example, has been a source of dispute for their controversial three-strike law.  In 1994, California enacted a three strike law which mandates a sentence of 25 years to life following a third felony conviction, which includes nonviolent felonies and no opportunity for release on parole.  This mandate removes judge discretion and leaves no choice of punishment for the offender other than imprisonment.   By 2001, more than 50,000 criminals had been sentenced under the new three-strike mandate and approximately one-quarter of those inmates faced a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. Longer prison sentences have also led to a higher population, in addition to a high recidivism rate of offenders following their release from prison.  
	As more and more nonviolent offenders are being housed in state prisons, the cost of housing these individuals increases.  Prisons lack the appropriate space, resources, and supervision that is necessary for a high inmate population.   This can lead to problems such as the maltreatment of inmates, increased violence, overcrowding in prison cells, and a lower standard of security and control.
