One In Three Prisoners Around The World Is Being Held In Pre-Trial Detention

Some may never see trial at all.

What happens after someone is arrested? Chances are high in much of the world that the person will be held in pre-trial detention — and perhaps never face trial at all, according to a new report released Sept. 10 by the Open Society Foundations.

An estimated 3.3 million people are being held in pre-trial detention around the world — that's one in every three prisoners, the report, titled Presumption of Guilt, found.

Pre-trial detainees make up over 40% of the total prison population in Central and South America, over 50% in Central and West Africa, and over 65% in South Asia. In some countries, the proportions are even higher.

That's a lot of time lost — with some significant consequences.

Most people caught in pre-trial detention are male, young, and poor. They can't help to support their families while caught in legal limbo.

The Open Society Foundations, a network that provides grants to support democracy and human rights initiatives, spent several years documenting the magnitude of pre-trial detention. They looked at the practice's causes and prevalence — and also on its effect on development worldwide.

"A dysfunctional justice system puts poor people behind bars," Jonathan Birchall

of the Open Society Justice Initiative told BuzzFeed News. "It's a good example of how getting basic access to justice to ordinary people can help to reduce a whole host of social, economic and financial problems."

Watch the Open Society Foundations' video here:

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