Justice department statistics show that there are over 2.3 million people behind bars in state prisons, federal prisons, and local jails in the United States. This number is one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. In December of 2007, U.S. News & World Report reported that almost 699,000 inmates were released in 2005. Similar numbers are expected for years to come. U.S. News quoted that "getting convicts to stay ex-cons has long been one of the most vexing challenges of the criminal justice system. One out of every 31 American adults is in jail, on parole, or on probation, and the central reality is this: Nearly everyone who enters the prison system eventually gets out.” When they get out, the problem for most inmates is that they have very little, if any, family and community support.

On December 5, 2008, Senator Jim Webb (Virginia) presented an excellent speech about the Hamilton Project Policy Discussion, "From Prison to Work: Overcoming Barriers to Reentry". This article discusses the real challenges that an inmate encounters after his or her release from prison.

An important prison reform and sentencing reform advocate is Pat Nolan. Pat is President of the Justice Fellowship which is an active part of Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship. I have met with Pat Nolan several times in Washington, D.C. to discuss his work, and I feel strongly that he and his team are doing very worthwhile work on behalf of prison reform and sentencing reform. Please take some time to review the Justice Fellowship website linked above in order to see the progress that Pat's team is making in this critical area.