The U.S. locks more people up than any other country.

There's been a lot of talk about mass incarceration in the last few years.

We incarcerate a greater percentage of our population than any country on Earth.

Even though over the last 20 years, the crime rate has actually dropped.

The American criminal justice system gives local prosecutors enormous discretion.

And historically, they've used it in service of a harsh law and order agenda.

The fact is a long history in this country of dealing with problems in the African American community

through criminal justice system.

You're listening to Thru Line from NPR.

Where we go back in time.

To understand the present.

Hey, I'm Ramti Nara Blui.

I'm Ram Dabdefetta.

And on this episode, the origins of mass incarceration in America.

The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world.

And that includes China, which has a population of more than 1.3 billion.

What's even more striking is that a third of American prisoners are black.

Across the political spectrum, many Americans agree that this is a major problem facing

the nation.

But naturally, the next question is, what do you do about it?

And that question is hotly debated.

Much has been written about it in recent years.

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