Reform 'unfair' US criminal justice system

President Barack Obama urged reform of the US criminal justice system yesterday, saying much of it "remains unfair" and that punishments should correspond to the severity of crimes.

"The United States is home to five percent of the world's population, but 25 percent of the world's prisoners," Obama said in his weekly radio address. "Every year, we spend $80 billion to keep people locked up."

The president said the reason the United States has such a high prison population -- 2.2 million -- is that more non-violent offenders have been put behind bars over the past decades than ever before.

Despite efforts to address the matter, "much of our criminal justice system remains unfair," Obama said. "In recent years, more of our eyes have been opened to this truth. We can't close them anymore."

He called on the Republican-controlled Congress to send reform bills to his desk to sign into law and said he would be traveling around the country to highlight the issue in the coming weeks.

Obama's comments came as the United States prepares to release thousands of prisoners considered at low risk of returning to crime, as part of an effort to ease prison overcrowding and redress overly harsh sentences.

The measure stands to benefit petty criminals and drug users sentenced to long prison terms for minor, non-violent offenses.