The politics of sentencing reform

Monday’s New York Times had this powerful editorial by Brent Staples which, in addition to assailing the harms done by harsh mandatory sentencing laws, details some of the often overlooked political forces which impede reform.  Here’s an excerpt:

The business of building and running the jailhouse has become a mammoth industry with powerful constituencies that favor the status quo. Prison-based money and political power have distorted the legislative landscape in ways that will be difficult to undo.