prison house is a misunderstoodinstitution , largely due topopular finish . Do arrestees really get one ( and only one ) phone call ? Are prisons full of murderers or people whose sole offense is marijuana possession ? If your only author areOrange is the New BlackandThe Shawshank Redemption(1994 ) , you may be under some false impression .

prison house riots are a sodding example where TV and movies may mislead us . While they sometimes make for spectacularr scenes , the ratio of prison house riots to imprison people is importantly lower than you might expect , and it ’s been on the decline for age .

to boot , some source depict prisons as teeming with passing violent offenders , like murderer . But almost one-half of the people in federal prisons are doing clock time for drug offenses . more or less one - fifth of incarcerated people in those prisons are there for weapons , explosive , or arson charges , while those convict of homicide , exasperate assault , and kidnappings calculate for just 3.2 per centum of the incarcerated population .

Orange isn’t necessarily the new black.

Conversely , it is n’t really straight that U.S. prison house are full of multitude with simple marijuana convictions . The real story is more complicated — that ’s why President Biden ’s pardon announcement for those with federal hemp ownership chargeswill do more to bring in previous recordsthan anything else .

In this episode ofMisconceptions , emcee Justin Dodd drive out myths and answer doubtfulness to shed some light on this complex institution . Why do prisoners get into orange jumpsuits ? How do correctional facility dissent around the world ? And just how much do people clear ferment prison job ?

A close-up of a latex-gloved hand holding up a small bag of white powder in front of a person in handcuffs.