When Stir Crazy was filmed in 1980, the U.S. prison population was about 329,800 people, representing approximately 140 individuals per 100,000 residents, or roughly 0.14% of the population. By 2022, the prison population had risen to around 2 million ,
incarcerated in state and federal prisons and jails, making up 541 per 100,000 residents, or about 0.54% of the population.
Richard Pryor only saw the beginning of the crisis which is why he was able to joke about it.