Jefferson-Bullock on Excessively Long Sentences

Jalila Jefferson-Bullock (Arizona Summit Law School) has posted The Time is Ripe to Include Considerations of the Effects on Families and Communities of Excessively Long Sentences on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

It is well established that the United States incarcerates more people per capita than any other country in the world. The fundamental cause of this incarceration mania is that the United States unjustifiably doles out scores of excessively lengthy prison terms. Comparatively, United States citizenry are not convicted of worse crimes, and thereby well-deserving of more protracted sentences than those living in other countries. Rather, our federal criminal justice system has historically manifested the belief, more than do our neighbors around the globe, that longer terms of incarceration will benefit society by reducing crime and effectively sanctioning immoral behaviors. The time is ripe for reconsideration of this ill-advised creed.