John Pfaff was cited in an Economist article about America’s prison population. His comment related to reducing the number of non-violent, non-sex-offender prisoners who have committed relatively minor crimes.
John Pfaff of Fordham Law School in New York points out that such offenders have been a diminishing proportion of the prison population for some time.
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The backlash to be faced if a criminal who could have been, or stayed, locked up does something heinous gives elected prosecutors—and judges—a strong incentive to err on the side of stiff penalties. Mr Pfaff sees a ratchet effect at work over time, with prosecutors seeking ever tougher charges.