Among American states (and everywhere else, for that matter) Louisiana has by far the highest general incarceration rate. But what about women only? The Prison Policy Initiative investigated, and found that West Virginia is the leader in that category by a wide margin, with 273 out of every 100,000 women locked up. It's followed by Oklahoma, Kentucky, Alabama, and Arizona:
Scroll way, way down the chart, and you'll find peer nations in Europe and elsewhere. Australia comes in at 23; Mexico at 21. But Ireland and Denmark are tied for very lowest among industrialized nations with a rate of five. That's less than two percent of West Virginia's rate. Yikes.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Check out the full report from PPI here.
-
Will Japan’s first female prime minister defy sumo’s ban on women?Under the Radar Sanae Takaichi must decide whether to break with centuries of tradition and step into the ring to present the trophy
-
Political cartoons for November 16Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include presidential pardons, the Lincoln penny, and more
-
The vast horizons of the Puna de AtacamaThe Week Recommends The ‘dramatic and surreal’ landscape features volcanoes, fumaroles and salt flats
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
