A new federal study says Alabama's imprisonment rate ranks third highest in the nation.
The study by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics says Alabama imprisoned 650 people per 100,000 state residents in 2012. Louisiana ranked first at 893 people per 100,000 residents and Mississippi was second at 717 per 100,000. Maine had the lowest rate at 145 people per 100,000 residents. The national average was 480 per 100,000.
The new study mirrors a similar review done by the Pew Center on the States in 2005. It found Alabama ranked sixth nationally in the incarceration rate for prisons and local jails combined.