Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration-and How to Achieve Real Reform *(ebook)
A groundbreaking reassessment of the American prison system, challenging the widely accepted explanations for our exploding incarceration rates In Locked In, John Pfaff argues that the factors most commonly cited to explain mass incarceration -- the failed War on Drugs, draconian sentencing laws, an increasing reliance on private prisons -- tell us much less than we think. Instead, Pfaff urges us to look at other factors, especially a major shift in prosecutor behavior that occurred in the mid-1990s, when prosecutors began bringing felony charges against arrestees about twice as often as they had before. An authoritative, clear-eyed account of a national catastrophe, Locked In is "a must-read for anyone who dreams of an America that is not the world's most imprisoned nation" (Chris Hayes, author of A Colony in a Nation). It transforms our understanding of what ails the American system of punishment and ultimately forces us to reconsider how we can build a more equitable and humane society. Read more
Download Now
Why Must Read Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration-and How to Achieve Real Reform?
When we talk about prison growth most advocates and reformist point to the failed War on Drugs, mandatory minimums, and the private prison industrial complex as the causes of mass incarceration. These are all factors and not irrelevant, but are they really what drove us to hold one quarter of the world's incarcerated population? John Pfaff, with compelling data and evidence, has made me think twice about the standard story promoted by Michelle Alexander and documentaries like 13th. Pfaff points to admissions not time served, not drugs but violence, not the private industrial complex but the public industrial complex, and prosecutor behavior as the real culprits for such high numbers of people behind bars. Anybody who is interested in reforming the criminal justice system or has been impacted by this broken system NEEDS to read this book. I am finishing it off with a new understanding of the criminal justice system and possible solutions as we move forward. Highly recommend this book!
Read Now