Fordham professor John Pfaff‘s book “Locked In,” which traces the role of prosecutorial discretion in creating the United States’ booming prison population, was mentioned in an article concerning Brooklyn’s acting District Attorney Eric Gonzales.
Circulating around the room was a copy of Fordham University Law Professor John Pfaff’s book “Locked In”, the thesis of which is that it is prosecutors, rather than the war on drugs or legislators seeking easy “law & order” votes, that is responsible for the immensity of America’s prison complex. Cases that might previously have been charged as misdemeanors are now filed as felonies, even in first-time and non-violent offenses, leading naturally to longer prison sentences instead of fines or weekends in the county jail.