The phenomenon of mass incarceration has made the United States the world leader in carceral punishment. With only four percent of the world's population, the United States accounts for 20% of the world's incarcerated persons. In fact, the U.S. Is the pioneer of mass incarceration and the attendant police militarization and prison industry that are its foundation. Programs like “three strikes”, mandatory minimums, and “truth in sentencing” are American innovations. Now, the U.S. is beginning to export this model abroad. Earlier this year, at a Fight Toxic Prisons conference in Texas, Nasim Chatha of the Alliance for Global Justice gave a talk on the idea of Prison Imperialism and how the United States is promoting a worldwide expansion of the Prison Industrial Complex.