Try the political quiz
@ISIDEWITHQuestionsCriminal IssuesStarted 9yrs agoActive 2yrs ago

Should non-violent prisoners be released from jail in order to reduce overcrowding?

Prison overcrowding is a social phenomenon occurring when the demand for space in prisons in a jurisdiction exceeds the capacity for prisoners. The First Step Act of 2018 passed overwhelmingly in both houses of Congress and was signed by President Trump. Within the first year of enactment, more than 3,000 federal prisoners were released based on changes to the good-time credits calculation formula under the First Step Act, and more than 2,000 inmates benefited from sentence reductions.

+
Expand
+ Settings

Toggle voterbase

Statistics are shown for this demographic

Answer Overview

Response rates from 948k America voters.

61%
Yes
39%
No
37%
Yes
30%
No
13%
Yes, but they must perform community service on a daily basis
8%
No, but we should increase funding to offer education and skill building services for prisoners
10%
Yes, but place them under house arrest using an electronic bracelet
1%
No, we should build more prisons
0%
No, transfer them to under crowded prisons instead

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 948k America voters.

Loading data...

Loading chart... 

Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 948k America voters.

Loading data...

Loading chart... 

Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @8MKKM75 from Louisiana  answered…6yrs6Y

depending of what said prisoner was convicted for, like drug possession, or self defense they should be able to be let out on terms of good behavior.

 @9GX62WV from North Carolina  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, but they should be required to attend some form of rehabilitation such as frequent community service, anger management classes, skills training, or a treatment center for addiction and mental health.

 @99JGS33 from Kentucky  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, but they must perform community service on a daily basis and should be monitored using an electronic bracelet. Another way to reduce overcrowding prisons is to execute all death row inmates and execute all murderers, terrorists, and all violent criminals. Once they are sentenced to death they should be executed ASAP.

 @93PWQPQ from Massachusetts  answered…4yrs4Y

No, transfer them to under crowded prisons instead.

 @9T6DN2M from North Carolina  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, but require that they attend some form of rehabilitation like daily community service or mental health treatment and place them on a parole-like check-in system for a set period

 @8XLR4JX  from North Carolina  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, but they should be required to undergo some form of rehabilitation and should remain on a parole-like check-in system for a certain time period.

 @9D8JZSB from Florida  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, except pedophiles

 @9LXTYYR from Pennsylvania  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, but if they commit another felony they should not be released from jail until there time is served even if they are non violent

Latest News

Stay up-to-date on the most recent “Prison Overcrowding” news articles, updated frequently.

Popular Conversations

Join in on the most popular conversations.

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

▲  1614 replies

About This Data

Based on 948k responses to this question.

These results come from iSideWith's ongoing political issues survey. We collect over a million responses per day, filter out duplicate and multiple submissions, and break the results down by political party, ideology, age, state, and census demographics (income, race, education, household).

iSideWith is non-partisan — we don't advocate for any party, candidate, or position. We report what the public tells us.

Read Our Full Methodology →

Cite Or Embed This Poll

Writing about this issue? Use the live data and link back to the full results.

Cite This Poll

iSideWith. (2026). “Should non-violent prisoners be released from jail in order to reduce overcrowding?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 27, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/polls/3021337207

Embed The Live Result

Preview