One of the most confounding recent trends in the criminal justice system is the disproportional increase in incarceration in rural areas. The main motivating factors of this trend have yet to be uncovered in their totality. This page seeks to explore the potential driving forces behind this pattern, along with highlighting the rural counties which are fighting this concerning, recent trend.
“While it is well known that public defenders’ caseloads are untenably high in jurisdictions nationwide, prompting lawsuits, the situation is particularly dire in largely rural states such as Louisiana. These so-called legal deserts may have only one or two defense attorneys, who are usually near retirement with no one to take their place.“
The Atlantic
July 18, 2019
Read More"According to the poll, even rural, mostly conservative voters aren’t thrilled by the current state of mass incarceration. Sixty-one percent of all rural residents believe that constructing more prisons doesn’t actually reduce crime, compared with just over two-thirds of the general population. And only 27 percent of people in rural areas believe crime in their immediate vicinity to be a major concern."
The Atlantic
April 20, 2018
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