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A computer-assisted investigation, published by the Montgomery Journal, reveals that rural Montgomery county "judges send a disproportionate number of people to prison, as a percentage of population, when compared with much larger Maryland counties." The finding is based on the analysis of a database of prison population. The same trend, though to a smaller degree, applies to other small rural Maryland counties, known as the "wilds" of the state, where "tobacco still reigns king among crops, the Klan still Marches on and changes in septic tank regulations can create years-long furor." Rural counties have far less crime, but a higher desire to more seriously punish wrongdoers, the reporter finds.