Data Indicates 60% In Prison For Non-Violent 'Crimes'

America's prisons are dangerously overcrowded, and the war on drugs is mainly to blame.

Over 50 percent of inmates currently in federal prison are there for drug offenses, according to an infographic recently released by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (see chart below). That percentage has risen fairly consistently over decades, all the way from 16 percent in 1970.

The second-largest category, immigration-related crimes, accounts for 10.6 percent of inmates. This means that people convicted of two broad categories of nonviolent crimes -- drugs and immigration -- make up over 60 percent of the U.S. prison population.

U.S. Prison Population As Of Jan. 25, 2014



Data is limited due to the availability of offense-specific information.

And what was the drug of choice for those convicted of drug offenses? Marijuana, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.