New report: 39% of prisoners unnecessarily behind bars

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – A new national study of U.S. prisons says 39 percent of all inmates are locked up for no compelling public safety reason. The study came from three years of research by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
It found that 25 percent of prisoners nationwide, about 364,000 inmates, are almost all non-violent, low-level offenders who would be better served by treatment, probation, or community service. The study says another 14 percent, about 212,000 inma