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<h1>Incarcerating US: The Failings of America’s Prison System</h1>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/10QsRJbvBNg" width="650"></iframe></p>&#13;
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<h3><em>Incarcerating US</em></h3>&#13;
<p>2016, 84 minutes</p>&#13;
<p>Directed by Regan Hines</p>&#13;
<p>America&rsquo;s state and federal prison population has soared in recent decades, from about 320,000 in 1980 to more than 1.5 million today. <em>Incarcerating US</em> dates the problem to the war on drugs and the establishment of mandatory minimum sentences. Statistics, law enforcement agents-turned-inmate advocates, and two especially sympathetic ex-offenders make the case for fairer sentencing laws, as well as the importance of job and educational opportunities once an inmate is freed. &ldquo;The collateral consequences of somebody&rsquo;s incarceration affects &hellip; the whole community,&rdquo; one volunteer says early in the film. &ldquo;It affects you as an individual &hellip; And whether you know that person or not that&rsquo;s incarcerated, you&rsquo;re paying for them. You should care.&rdquo;</p>
<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a> at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/science/2017/04/01/incarcerating-us-the-failings-of-americas-prison-system">https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/science/2017/04/01/incarcerating-us-the-failings-of-americas-prison-system</a>.</p><link href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/science/2017/04/01/incarcerating-us-the-failings-of-americas-prison-system" rel="canonical"/><p>Yes! Magazine is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of ... . Learn more at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a></p><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=15186&ga4=G-74QJNNY44Z" style="width:1px;height:1px;">
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