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Aren't extreme sentences and mass incarceration a "tired philosophy that trusts in government more than people"?

By Douglas A. Berman

This phrase in John McCain's speech last night really caught my attention as a sentencing geek: in his most-quoted line, Senator McCain cautions against "the false promises and failed policies of a tired philosophy that trusts in government more than people."  Though I know this is means as an attack on liberal social policies, it strikes me as an especially effective attack line against "tough-on-crime" political rhetoric that seeks to increase incarceration for any and all criminal offenses. Consider this issue, for example, in the context of white-collar prosecutions and sentencing.  After the Enron scandal, sentences for white-collar crimes went up dramatically.  But this "tough-on-crime" approach did not prevent all the mortgage fraud and predatory practices that helped contribute to the current economic woes...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 20, 2008 (boomark / email).