Efforts to expand the scope and availability of Oregon’s Family Sentencing Alternative Pilot, which is set to expire at the end of June 2025, have been curtailed after pushback from district attorneys across Oregon. Fordham Law Professor John Pfaff’s 2017 book, Locked In, was referenced by Prism and explains who shoulders the cost of prisons. This story was originally published in English by Wesley Vaughan, at Prism.
John F. Pfaff, a professor at Fordham School of Law, explains in his book “Locked In” that prison is a cost shouldered by the state and not the county that sentences people to prison. For the prosecutor, prison is essentially a free blunt instrument, instead of an expensive sharp one that carries with it a host of collateral consequences, such as foster care, economic instability, housing insecurity, and overall public health and safety issues.
Prism is an independent and nonprofit newsroom led by journalists of color. We report from the ground up and at the intersections of injustice.
