The Stress of Incarceration: How The Fear Of Going To Jail Can Kill You!

The United States incarcerates more of its citizens than any other country in the world. This is ironic, given the fact that a large percentage of the first European immigrants were former prisoners, released from overcrowded jails and sent to America as a means to reduce the prison population. Many of these immigrants were serving time simply because they had debts they couldn't pay. So isn't it outrageous that everything in America carries the threat of jail? Driving a car without insurance, not paying child support, even writing a bad check - all of these things, which are tied to not having enough money, can lead to imprisonment! This keeps people who lack financial means in a constant state of anxiety. How is that affecting our health? Drug use often becomes a means to cope with anxiety. So now, drug use is another crime which leads to incarceration! How do we end the cycle of punishing people because the don't have money, creating so much stress over the fear of going to jail that many poor people die early deaths from stress related illnesses? Today we'll examine a recent proposal to release all those jailed for non violent drug related offenses