Complaints about "defund the police" are back in the news. But if you look at actual expenditure data, it simply never happened.
Category: Politics
Some Early Thoughts on Some Maybe-Overstated (By Me) Republican Threat to Local Reforms
For a while now, I've been seriously concerned about the threat that state-level preemption poses to local criminal legal reform efforts. But as I've dug into it more, my views have become ... confused. I don't think it is irrelevant, and it may still pose a dire threat to reforms. But also? Republican efforts to …
Realignment: The Transformative (and Complicated) Reform No One Talks About
California's 2011 Realignment law was one of the more transformative reform laws of the current reform era, but it gets almost no attention. This explainer hopes to start to help fix that.
The Complicated Reality of the “Willie Horton” Effect
The "Willie Horton Effect" has long been cited for why politicians cannot risk being lenient towards people convicted of crimes. I've long cited it myself, but now I increasingly think the politics here are a lot more complicated.
Crime Decline, Prison Decline, September 11th, and the Peculiar Politics of Punishment
A famous Gallup poll is often cited by crime-studying types as evidence that Americans are ignorant about crime trends. I think it actually sheds some important light on how the politics of crime are really about broader, deeper fears.
A Request for Ideas for a Revamped Sentencing Law Course
As I think about how to redesign my seminar on Sentencing Law & Policy, I'd love to get people's ideas on good sources to use.
States’ Dismal Reaction to Covid in Prisons, Especially for the Elderly
With the availability of granular prison data for 2020, it has become clear that the population *most* at risk to suffer bad reactions to Covid--the elderly--was the one to *least* experience early release. In fact, in many states, the number of people over 65 in prison rose over 2020.
San Francisco: Boudin’s Election, Recall, and Why We Got the Lesson From It Wrong
A deep (and a bit long) dive into the election and recall of Chesa Boudin in San Francisco. A story the pundits jumped on, but didn't really get right.
Prosecutorial Elections
An introduction to my forthcoming series of county-specific posts of who votes for reform prosecutors, and the hyperlocal politics they face.
Prosecutorial Elections: Allegheny’s Illuminating Rematch
Allegheny's 2023 election of prosecutor provides a unique window for seeing just how powerful a role white suburbs can play in thwarting the efforts of more-Black urban neighborhoods to elect reform-minded prosecutors.
Prisons, Prosecutors, and the Politics of Punishment 