Alabama resident here.

One of the reasons for the very high amount of single parents in the South is the VERY harsh sentences for non-violent drug crime, especially among African Americans. Sometimes 10 years for first offenses [1]. Yikes.

Even worse, many in the past ten years are being denied parole [2].

Why the high recidivism? I'm glad you asked. The culprit is For-Profit Prisons [3]. They come in to an area, pay off local judges and congresspeople, and watch the money roll in. Absolutely despicable, and something I am working to end. If you only read one link, read number 3.

[1] http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=20050404&id=_...

[2] http://www.eji.org/prisons/parolereform

[3] http://www.birminghamcriminaldefenseblog.com/2013/09/article...