Does Massachusetts need more prison space to keep crime in check and improve public safety? Who’s in prison now? Are we filling our prisons with the right people? The answers contained in this investigative report on our corrections system may surprise you.
For instance, contrary to popular perception an inflow of low-level drug offenders is not primarily responsible for our growing prison overcrowding problems: In fact, if every one of the 1,900 drug offenders serving mandatory-minimum sentences were released tomorrow, the state’s prison population would still be 1,000 inmates above capacity. Report author Robert Keough proves that an honest, open-minded approach can yield results that challenge the conventional wisdom on both sides of an issue.