World prison population tops 9 million; US leads incarceration rate News
World prison population tops 9 million; US leads incarceration rate

[JURIST] Over 9 million people are now in prison worldwide and the number is growing, according to a new report [PDF text] by the London-based International Centre for Prison Studies [NGO website]. The statistical survey included convicts and persons held in pre-trial detention. The US, China, and Russia account for about half of the total, with the US holding 2.09 million, China holding 1.55 million (plus pretrial detainees and prisoners in what is termed "administrative detention") and Russia 760,000. The US has the highest incarceration rate by population: 714 persons per 100,000. Guardian News Services has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

South Africa becomes first country on continent to legalize same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriages became legal in South Africa on November 30, 2006 as the country's Civil Union Act, 2006 went into effect, making South Africa the only country on the African continent to legalize same-sex marriage. Read the Civil Union Act, 2006.