Norway has a population of just 5 million people(approx). The USA has a population of around 320 million people. The cost of warehousing all these bad guys and gals(many for life) is astronomical.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States
Incarceration
Main article: Incarceration in the United States
A map of US states according to number of incarcerated individuals per population of 100,000 in 2008.[35]
As of 2001, the chances of going to prison in percentages for various demographic groups
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world (which includes pre-trial detainees and sentenced prisoners).[36] As of 2009, 2.3 million people were incarcerated in the United States, including federal and state prisons and local jails, creating an incarceration rate of 793 persons per 100,000 of national population.[36] During 2011, 1.6 million people were incarcerated under the jurisdiction of federal and state authorities.[37] At the end of 2011, 492 persons per 100,000 U.S. residents were incarcerated in federal and state prisons.[37] Of the 1.6 million state and federal prisoners, nearly 1.4 million people were under state jurisdiction, while 215,000 were under federal jurisdiction.[37] Demographically, nearly 1.5 million prisoners were male, and 115,000 were female, while 581,000 prisoners were black, 516,000 were white, and 350,000 were Hispanic.[37]
Among the 1.35 million sentenced state prisoners in 2011, 725,000 people were incarcerated for violent crimes, 250,000 were incarcerated for property crimes, 237,000 people were incarcerated for drug crimes, and 150,000 were incarcerated for other offenses.[37] Of the 200,000 sentenced federal prisoners in 2011, 95,000 were incarcerated for drug crimes, 69,000 were incarcerated for public order offenses, 15,000 were incarcerated for violent crimes, and 11,000 were incarcerated for property crimes.[37]