According to the Department of Justice, there are about 2.2 million prisoners in the United States, with a disproportionately high number of African-Americans and Latinos. Blacks are six times as likely to be in prison as Whites and Latinos twice as likely. The annual price tag to keep them in prison is $80 billion, close to the Department of Education’s entire budget.

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Each year, about 600,000 people are released from federal and state prison, but they often find themselves back in jail. Unable to find jobs, housing, obtain loans, or go to school, many people with criminal records are unable to move forward with their lives – this, though they have already served their time. Many fall back into criminal behavior. A 2014 Department of Justice study of recidivism rates tracked more than 400,000 prisoners after their releases in 2005. It found that nearly 68 percent were rearrested within three years. A further 77 percent were rearrested within five years.