Incarcerated
The world prison population is estimated at 10.1 million (or approximately 1 out of 685 people). Many countries utilize pre-trial detentions and a majority of prisons in Africa and the Americas are classified as "overcrowded."
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Almost one-quarter of the entire world prison population is imprisoned in the US. One in every 131 US citizens is imprisoned—the highest rate in the world. More than half of federal inmates are in prison due to drug-related convictions, and approximately 80% of these are for simple possession.
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Over a 23 year period in the US (1989-2012), 891 prisoners were exonerated—that is, innocent people who were falsely convicted and should never have been imprisoned (averaging more than 11 years of prison per each person). This does not include many others who are currently wrongfully imprisoned but have not been exonerated. For example, even a 99.5% accuracy rate would result in 10,000 people wrongfully convicted every year in the US.
International Centre for Prison Studies – World Prison Population List
United Nations - Twelfth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
The National Registry of Exonerations
Convicted but Innocent: Wrongful Conviction and Public Policy