America is No. 1 in the world when it comes to incarcerating its own citizens. With one-in-three black men in the U.S. likely to go to prison during his lifetime, the system begs for reform, burdens taxpayers, and weakens our country - particularly our communities of color. After decades of resistance, the system may see changes and shrinking prison populations because of bipartisan support for improvement.

Marc Mauer is Executive Director of the Washington D.C.-based Sentencing Project.

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