Professor John Pfaff was quoted in a Slate article about a recent congressional bill introduced to reverse a 1990s crime bill that led to harsher criminal sentencing laws.
“There’s tremendous political risk to cutting back [on incarceration], so I’m not sure you can just incentivize your way out of growth,” says John Pfaff, a Fordham law professor and the author of the book Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration—and How to Achieve Real Reform. Of the $12.5 billion in federal funds earmarked by the 1994 crime bill for states that introduced tougher sentencing laws, Pfaff says only $2.7 billion was claimed, an indication “that these federal grants are kind of ignored.”
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Pfaff acknowledges that the bill could encourage states to think creatively about how to rein in prison growth but thinks it’s “not enough money to encourage them to do that aggressively.” Without considering what motivates key players like prosecutors who consistently oppose reform, a well-intentioned law with a meager budget is unlikely to bring about the change it promises.
