Closing Argument

Today, the U.S. has the dubious distinction of leading the
industrialized world in per capita prison population, with more than
one million men and women behind bars. The typical inmate in our
prisons is minority, male, young and uneducated. More than 40
percent of inmates are illiterate; one-third were unemployed when
arrested. This profile should tell us something important about the
link between crime and lack of opportunity, between crime and lack of
hope.

Only when we begin to deal with the conditions that cause so many of
our young people to turn to crime and violence will we begin to
realize a less crime ridden society.