More on the JEC hearing on mass incarceration
As noted previously here, this morning Congress’s Joint Economic Committee (JEC) is holding a hearing entitled, “Mass Incarceration in the United States: At What Cost?”. It appears as though Senator Jim Webb put this program together; his webpage now has interesting links to “Facts about the United States prison system” and “Floor Charts and Graphs” that spotlight, inter alia, that the “composition of prison admissions has … shifted toward less serious offenses, characterized by parole violations and drug offenses.”
In addition, now available on this page are links to the written statements or testimony of the following participants in this JEC hearing:
- Representative Maloney’s Opening Statement
- Dr. Glenn Loury, Economics and Social Sciences Professor, Brown University
- Dr. Bruce Western, Director Inequality and Social Policy Program, Harvard University
- Alphonso Albert, Executive Director, Second Chances
- Michael Jacobson, Executive Director, Vera Institute for Justice
- Pat Nolan, Vice President, Prison Fellowship, Reston, Virginia
I find it extraordinarily encouraging that the Senate is having a hearing to discuss how the country can andshould be smarter on crime rather than just always seeking to be tougher on crime. (Relatedly, it is disappointing that this JEC hearing has so far gotten very little press attention.)
Some recent related posts: