1.      Currently, there are approximately two million people in federal prison.  Two-thirds of the people in US federal prison are African American or Hispanic.

2.      The national incarceration rate for whites is 412 per 100,000 residents, compared to 2,290 for African Americans, and 742 for Hispanics.

3.       In the state of NC there are currently 38,284 inmates, with the holding space for 33,148 inmates.  In NC, for every one Caucasian in prison or jail there are 5.4 African Americans. 

4.      In 2007, approximately 93% of all prison admissions were male and 58% were African American. 

5.      One in nine (11.7%) African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 is currently incarcerated in a prison or jail. 

6.      More than three times as many African Americans live in prison cells as in college dorms.  The ratio is only slightly better for Hispanics, at 2.7 inmates for every Latino in college housing. Among non-Hispanic whites, more than twice as many live in college housing as in prison or jail.

7.      Latinos have one chance in six of being incarcerated during their lifetimes. 

8.      More than 60% of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities.  These trends have been intensified by the disproportionate impact of the “war on drugs,” in which three-fourths of all persons in prison for drug offenses are people of color. 

9.      The average cost of incarcerating an individual for a year is more than $23,000. 

Sources: 
1.      Families Against Mandatory Minimums, http://www.famm.org/PressRoom/PressKit/QuickFacts.aspx
2.     US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/pjim05.pdf, p. 11
3.       The Sentencing Project, http://www.sentencingproject.org/Admin%5CDocuments%5Cpublications%5Crd_stateratesofincbyraceandethnicity.pdf, p. 13
4.       NC Department of Corrections, http://www.doc.state.nc.us/publications/stats2008.pdf
5.       US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/pjim06.pdf, p. 9
6.       CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/27/census.prisons.ap/index.html#cnnSTCOther1
7.       National Council of La Raza, http://www.nclr.org/content/publications/download/27567
8.       The Sentencing Project, http://www.sentencingproject.org/IssueAreaHome.aspx?IssueID=3
9.       Families Against Mandatory Minimums, http://www.famm.org/PressRoom/PressKit/QuickFacts.aspx