John Pfaff was quoted in The Atlantic about mass incarceration in the United States.
John Pfaff, a law professor at Fordham University, argues that despite the existence of laws calling for lengthy sentences, many inmates actually spend far less time in prison than the maximum amount possible. There could be various reasons for this, such as inmates getting released from prison earlier than their sentences initially dictated due to parole, or prosecutors seeking shorter sentences than the maximum allowed. “We have very long sentences on the books but most people actually spend a fairly short amount of time in prison,” Pfaff says. So even if mandatory minimum laws were reformed or repealed, it’s likely that still wouldn’t solve the problem.
Instead Pfaff suggests that more attention needs to be paid to a high rate of incarceration driven by overzealous prosecutors. More people are being admitted to prison, regardless of the amount of time they spend incarcerated. “We need to focus on the question of who we send to prison in the first place and why,” Pfaff says. “That’s a much tougher question to ask.”