Sir William Blackstone famously decreed that it would be better for ten guilty men to escape justice than for one innocent to suffer at the hands of the law. In theory, it seems like an admirable principle. If mere men are to wield the sword of justice, they should do so cautiously. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality of America’s criminal-justice system. This is just one of the troubling realities that emerge from John Pfaff’s new book, Locked In. It is a valuable contribution to the ongoing discussion about justice reform.
Locked In is an interesting example of a book that is better than its central argument. Pfaff, a Fordham professor, supports the growing consensus that America’s prison population is too large. He’s dissatisfied, though, with current reformers. He thinks they’re chasing rabbits when bigger game is afoot. Locked In aims to correct this error by highlighting the true causes of over-incarceration.
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