One of 100 US citizens in jail.

BBC: US jail numbers at an all-times high.

More than 1% of US adults (0.75% of total population) is in jail. Some are surely for serious crimes like rape and murder but many are for such "crimes" as using LSD or other drugs, which is not even a misdeamanor in other countries (unless you drive under the influence).

The figures surprised me as something brutal, proper of a police state (something that many US citizens believe their country has become lately).

For some is nevertheless a mere financial matter, creating a large burden on an already extremely indebted and strained budget.