A new report by the Justice Policy Institute says states spend too much money on prisons and not enough on education. The statistics tell the story.

African-American men who drop out of high school are four times more likely to be imprisoned than white males who fail to graduate, according a study by a Washington-based think tank on criminal justice. The report, which will be released today by the Justice Policy Institute, shows that 52 percent of black male dropouts will have been incarcerated by their early 30s compared with 13 percent of white men who do not complete high school.

The authors of the report draw the conclusion that state governments, including Maryland's, are devoting too much money to prisons and not enough to education.

"States can find the money they need to reinvest in education and communities by reducing prison populations and creating alternatives to cut incarceration costs," the report states.

The full report, Education and Incarceration, is available for free download.