Inmates should also be provided with counseling to prevent future criminal behaviors and activities when they are released (Clark). .
From 1970 to 1990, the population of federal and state prisons quadrupled (Clark). There are several key events in the history of the growth and overcrowding of U.S. prisons. First, in 1973, Nelson Rockefeller, the governor of New York, signed the Rockefeller drug laws (Overcrowding, Issues & Controversies). They required severe sentencing for obtaining, distributing or using drugs. Thirty-six other states created laws similar to the Rockefeller drug laws (Overcrowding, Issues & Controversies). In 1989, President George Bush announced the official beginning of the "war on drugs" (Overcrowding, Issues & Controversies). Its purpose was to lower drug use in America by sentencing drug offenders to federal and state prisons. Bush's strong stand against drugs is the main reason for the estimated 500,000 drug offenders incarcerated in U.S. prisons (Overcrowding, Issues & Controversies). In 1994, California passed the "three-.
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strikes" law (Overcrowding, Issues & Controversies). It required long prison sentences for people convicted of three serious felonies (California's prisons). In 1998, twenty.
three states adopted laws similar to the California three-strike law (Overcrowding, Issues & Controversies). These decisions caused a major strain on the prison system. .
In 2002, the U.S. prison population broke two million (Overcrowding, Issues & Controversies). In 2003, federal prisons were operating over capacity by 31% (Overcrowding, Issues & Controversies). The overcrowding problem becomes worse and more difficult to solve by the year. The annual growth of inmates is about 10% (Miller). The continual growth of the current overcrowding problem has recently raised constitutional issues concerning prisoners' rights (Clark). In some states, such as North Carolina prisoners have been forced to triple bunk in dormitories that have an area of less than 28 square feet (---).