In thinking about the purpose of incarceration, the late criminologist Mark Kleiman argued, it is important to distinguish between "people we're mad at" and "people we're afraid of." Kleiman added that, in light of research indicating that deterrence hinges on the probability of punishment more than its severity, "long prison terms are wasteful government spending." A bill that Sen. Cory Booker (D–N.J.) and Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D–Calif.) introduced yesterday aims to apply those insights by using federal grants to encourage reductions in state prison populations.
"Over 1.2 million individuals are imprisoned in federal and state facilities, with an additional 636,000 locked up in local jails," a press release from Booker's office notes. "Data have shown that there is no compelling public safety justification for nearly 40 percent of the prison population to remain incarcerated."
