More on Elizabeth Holmes and prison

The Free Press asked me to expand upon my views of this matter, here is one excerpt from the piece:

Third, fewer women in prison does not have to mean less deterrence overall, as arguably we should concentrate more of our legal resources on deterring violent men.

Note that if we can release enough women from prison, more prison space will be freed up, and I mean more prison space for men, including violent men. It is common to read of shortfalls in jail and prison space, which lead to violent men being released early. Many of these men go on to commit violent crimes, a truly major injustice. Or they commit an ongoing string of misdemeanors, sometimes ranging into the dozens or even hundreds, such as shoplifting or disorderly conduct. Our cities become much less livable as a result.

If we can, over time, convert some of the current prison space for women into prison space for men, especially violent and destructive men, I expect a net increase of justice in this country. I also think it will be a better country to live in.

There is precedent for such a conversion of facilities. In 2013, California turned the Valley State Prison for Women into a men’s prison, as the female prison population was declining and more space was needed to relieve overcrowding among the males.

As an economist might say, sending women to prison is not a free lunch. Given that prison space is scarce, it means the release of more violent criminals, mostly male.

Some reliance on prison is unavoidable.  But it amazes me how much people will go to the mat to defend an institution — whole cloth at that — that makes no real sense in terms either humanitarian or even simply organizational.