Frightening claims are being made that U.S. prisons are breeding grounds for Islamic terrorism. The premise is that the dangerous and unstable people who populate prisons can all too easily be swept into radical religion and terrorism. A 17-person blue-ribbon task force, assembled by researchers…

Crime rates peaked nationally in 1995 and have declined substantially over the last decade. In 1995, there were 684 violent crimes nationally per 100,000 residents; in 2006, there were 473. The much-publicized decline in New York City's violent crime rate saw it go from 2,384 per 100,000 residents…