America definitely imprisons too many people, but the “war on drugs” and mandatory minimum sentencing are not the main causes, New York Times columnist David Brooks claims. He suggests overly aggressive prosecutors are responsible for the prison problem.
The drug war, according to Brooks, is “not even close to being the primary driver” behind the sharp rise. Only 17 percent of inmates are in for drug charges, and the share of people in prison for drug offenses dropped 22 percent between 2006 and 2011.
Releasing every drug offender from state prison today, would reduce the population only to 1.2 million from 1.5 million, writes Brooks, quoting Leon Neyfakh in Slate magazine.
“The laws look punitive, but the time served hasn’t increased, and so harsh laws are not the main driver behind mass incarceration, either,” Brooks stated.
The article cites a theory by John Pfaff of Fordham Law School on the cause of the mass incarceration: prosecutors have gotten a lot more aggressive in bringing felony charges.
Pfaff cites that 20 years ago they brought felony charges against about one in three arrestees. Now it’s something like two in three. The doubling rate of felony charges produces a lot more plea bargains and a lot more prison terms.
One reason prosecutors are more aggressive, according to Pffaf, is to impress voters if they run for office in the future. Prosecutors are paid by the county, and prison costs are paid by the state, so prosecutors tend not to worry about the financial costs of what they do.