Their aim: More education $, less prison $

The United States imprisons a higher percentage of its population than any other country, said Jerry Mondesire, president of the state chapter of the NAACP.

It's a reality he wants federal lawmakers to keep in mind when they consider a Senate bill that calls for a national criminal-justice commission to study alternatives to locking up nonviolent offenders.

"Mass incarceration is not working," Mondesire said yesterday during a news conference with Rep. Bob Brady and District Attorney Seth Williams.

"The homicide rate remains abysmally high. The numbers of dollars spent for public education in this state remains low and the amount of money we're building for prisons continues to grow."

To drive the point home, a billboard will travel around the city for three days with a message urging taxpayers to contact their U.S. senators to pass the National Criminal Justice Act, which was introduced last spring.

The tour will also take place in five other states, Mondesire said, and the group will march in the nation's capital on Oct. 2 to push for the bill's passage.

Brady said jails or prisons don't always serve the best interest of the public.

"There are many nonviolent offenders that are in jail who could be doing better for the community than being incarcerated," he said.

Williams said that reducing truancy and increasing graduation rates can also get the job done.

"Don't get me wrong, we have to have the right people in jail, but we also have to understand the connection between education, economic development, public health and public safety," he said.

Mondesire noted that his organization's goal is not to tear down prisons, but to assess the country's excessive spending on corrections.

"We're spending more money on prisons than higher education," he said. "We have to put our priorities straight."

An analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that over the past 20 years, inflation-adjusted state spending on corrections rose 127 percent while higher-education expenditures rose just 21 percent.

Mondesire added that minorities are disproportionately affected by incarceration.

Research shows that black males have a 32 percent chance of serving time in prison at some point in their lives; Hispanic males have a 17 percent chance; white males have a 6 percent chance.

"This has got to end," he said. "We have to find a new way to address crime and fight crime in this country."