Professor John Pfaff wrote an op-ed on mass incarceration for The Washington Post.
California voters last week recalled a judge for the first time in more than 85 years. The politics of punishment are already pathological; the recall will make them worse.
The particulars of the case by now ring familiar: Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Stanford student Brock Turner, convicted of sexually assaulting a woman on campus, to six months in jail (he served three), three years of probation (with the risk of 14 years in prison for a violation) and lifetime registration as a sex offender, along with costs and fees. Persky followed the sentencing recommendation made by the probation department, but many people viewed the sentence as too lenient, reflecting both a lack of respect for victims of sexual abuse and an attitude favoring the well-off and privileged. In response, Stanford law professor Michele Dauber launched the campaign that led to Persky’s removal.
As an academic who studies criminal justice, I have opposed the recall effort since I first heard about it because of potential consequences that reach well past Persky’s now-former courtroom: The recall will make judges more punitive, thwart progress toward scaling back mass incarceration and — though Turner and Persky are both white — hurt minorities disproportionately.