In the past two decades, Louisiana prison population has doubled. One out of every 86 adults is behind bars in Louisiana. They have more prisoners per capita than any other state in the U.S. Or any other country.
The rate of imprisonment in Louisiana is three times more than Iran and ten times more than Germany. The state has created financial incentives for sheriffs to keep their jailhouses and prisons full. So, more than half of the prisoners are actually housed in local prisons or jailhouses.
One development that is causing some concern is that some sheriffs are now running for-profit prisons in rural areas of Louisiana. They receive $25 per day per inmate. They are then able to use the money to hire more officers for their stations. The private prisons are usually set up with one big room that has bunk beds for 80 to 90 men or women. They keep the facilities basic to save costs and use the money for the stations instead.