Statistics

The numbers are startling:

Over 8,300 men came to Dallas County
from prison in 2007. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Open Records Request, March 2008)
On any given day, America locks down
some 2.3 million people. Some 656,000 emerge every year; about
two thirds of them end up behind bars again.(Newsweek, April 24, 2006;The Dawn of a New Movement; By Ellis Cose)
Almost 400,000 Texas children have a parent in prison. 70% of them will follow their parents' footsteps into prison. AmachiTexas
In Texas the total inmate population has grown nearly 500% in less than 25 years with over 225,000 incarcerated. (RJMN, December 2007)