Why So Many Americans Are Unnecessarily Incarcerated

A new report published by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law called, “Unnecessarily Incarcerated,” estimates that America could release 39% of its total prison population with little to no risk to public safety. Lauren-Brooke Eisen, the Brennan Center for Justice’s top researcher, explains that their research team spent three years analyzing criminal codes, convictions, and sentences. They determined 25% of prisoners would be better served by alternatives to incarceration, and  that others have served sufficiently long sentences and could be released.