{"id":12201,"date":"2020-04-22T21:14:44","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T01:14:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/crcl\/?p=12201"},"modified":"2020-04-22T21:16:27","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T01:16:27","slug":"progressive-prosecutors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/crcl\/progressive-prosecutors\/","title":{"rendered":"How Progressive Prosecutors Came Up Short (And Why They Still Deserve Appreciation)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Progressive prosecutors have a math problem. Reform-oriented District Attorneys like Rachel Rollins (Boston), Larry Krasner (Philadelphia), and Kim Foxx (Chicago) ran and won on platforms<\/a> of ending mass incarceration<\/a>. And yet, they have no chance of achieving that goal with their current policies.<\/p>\n

The United States incarcerates 2.3 million individuals<\/a>. That is approximately 698 out of every 100,000 residents, or approximately 0.7% of the total population. The only countries with incarceration rates even close are relatively poor countries with authoritarian regimes: El Salvador, Turkmenistan, Cuba, and Thailand incarcerate<\/a> 614, 583, 510, and 483 residents per 100,000, respectively.<\/p>\n

Reducing the United States\u2019 incarcerated population to levels comparable<\/a> with other economically advanced democracies would require at least a five-fold reduction\u2014to bring the United States in line with the United Kingdom\u2014and as much as ten-fold reduction to achieve the incarceration rates in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and Sweden.<\/p>\n

Progressive prosecutors\u2019 math problem stems from a discrepancy between the targets of their reforms and the makeup of the United States\u2019 incarcerated population. Progressive prosecutors\u2019 policies<\/a> have focused almost exclusively<\/a> on reducing the severity of punishments for drug crimes, technical violations of supervised release, poverty crimes like retail theft<\/a>, and public order violations like prostitution and trespassing. These policies affect only the most sympathetic criminal defendants, a strategy described<\/a> as targeting politically \u201clow-hanging fruit<\/a>.\u201d At the same time, their reforms have all but ignored people charged with violent offenses and other serious crimes. [1]<\/a><\/p>\n

A five-fold reduction in incarceration is impossible<\/a> with that strategy. Defendants charged with or convicted of violent crimes make up more than 46%<\/a> of the incarcerated population. Those charged with or convicted of \u201cserious\u201d offenses, including violent as well as certain non-violent offenses like burglary and weapons possession, collectively make up 57%<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The math problem is straightforward. Ending mass incarceration would involve a five- to ten-fold reduction in incarceration. However, current progressive prosecutors\u2019 policies exclude most people incarcerated for violent or serious offenses: An 80% reduction is impossible when over half of the incarcerated population is off the table from the start.<\/p>\n

Ending the shameful era of mass incarceration does not require eliminating prisons (though a movement<\/a> that envisions prison abolition<\/a> is growing<\/a>). But it will require a massive reduction in the number of people sent to prison and the sentence lengths of those who go. A truly anti-mass incarceration prosecutor must decrease incarceration for practically every <\/em>defendant, including the least sympathetic.<\/p>\n

Conventional wisdom says that this is an insurmountable political hurdle. How could a candidate for chief law enforcement officer win if they support leniency for people convicted of sex crimes, violent crimes, and those with lengthy criminal records? Do not despair quite yet.<\/p>\n

For decades, there was broad consensus<\/a> that success as an elected prosecutor required a \u201ctough on crime\u201d platform: maximally harsh sentences, minimal sympathy for defendants, and unwavering support for the police. That supposed truism crumbled<\/a> quickly once it was challenged. The current wave of progressive prosecutors defied a decades-old model. Instead of \u201clock \u2019em up,\u201d they ran, and won, on platforms of dropping charges, reducing the prison population, and curtailing prosecutorial misconduct.<\/p>\n

Frustration with the current wave of progressive prosecutors is understandable. They promised an end to mass incarceration, and they have come up short. In some cases, they have not delivered<\/a> on even their more limited<\/a> campaign promises.<\/p>\n

Their electoral success invites another wave of reform prosecutors to challenge the conventional wisdom that popular support for criminal justice reform will not extend to people convicted of serious and violent crimes. That assumption is perilously untested. I look forward to the truly anti-mass incarceration prosecutors who shatter it.<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> There are several exceptions worth noting. Many progressive prosecutors vowed never to pursue the death penalty. Angela J. Davis, Reimagining Prosecution: A Growing Progressive Movement<\/em>, 3 UCLA Crim. Just. L. Rev. 1, 11, 14, 18 (2019). Many offices have opened conviction integrity units to mitigate wrongful convictions or unconstitutional juvenile life without parole sentences. Id. <\/em>at 10, 14, 19; Benjamin Levin, Imagining the Progressive Prosecutor<\/em>, Minn. L. Rev. (forthcoming) 15\u201316. The Bronx and Brooklyn District Attorneys\u2019 Offices have partnered with the non-profit organization Common Justice to facilitate restorative justice circles in lieu of traditional prosecution for a limited number of defendants. Eligible cases include aggravated assaults and armed robberies. Miriam Krinsky & Taylor Phares, Accountability and Repair: The Prosecutor\u2019s Case for Restorative Justice,<\/em> 64 N.Y.L. Sch. L. Rev. 32, 41\u201342 (2019). Still, these policies fall well short of achieving an agenda of the likes needed to put a serious dent in mass incarceration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Progressive prosecutors have a math problem. Ending mass incarceration would involve a five- to ten-fold reduction in incarceration. However, their policies exclude more than half of the people who sent to prisons and jails. Nonetheless, this generation of progressive prosecutors deserves appreciation. Their electoral success invites a second wave of reform prosecutors to challenge the conventional wisdom that popular support for criminal justice reform will not extend to people convicted of serious and violent crimes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101940,"featured_media":12202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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