A 'Holocaust in Slow Motion?' America's Mass Incarceration and the Role of Discretion

7 DePaul Journal for Social Justice 117 (2014)

U of St. Thomas (Minnesota) Legal Studies Research Paper No. 14-30

62 Pages Posted: 1 Sep 2014

See all articles by Mark William Osler

Mark William Osler

University of St. Thomas - School of Law (Minnesota)

Mark W. Bennett

U.S. District Court (Northern District of Iowa); Independent; Drake University - Law School

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

Numbers don’t lie: America has suffered an explosion in imprisonment that has been fundamentally unrelated to actual crime levels. In this article, a federal District Court Judge and a former federal prosecutor examine the roots of this explosion with a focus on the discretion of Congress, the United States Sentencing Commission, federal prosecutors, and judges. This dark period may be in its twilight, though, and the authors conclude by describing specific actions each of these four groups could take to dismantle the cruel machinery of mass incarceration.

Keywords: mass incarceration, sentencing, prosecutorial discretion, Eric Holder

Suggested Citation

Osler, Mark William and Bennett, Mark W., A 'Holocaust in Slow Motion?' America's Mass Incarceration and the Role of Discretion (2014). 7 DePaul Journal for Social Justice 117 (2014), U of St. Thomas (Minnesota) Legal Studies Research Paper No. 14-30, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2489640

Mark William Osler (Contact Author)

University of St. Thomas - School of Law (Minnesota) ( email )

MSL 400, 1000 La Salle Avenue
Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 55403-2005
United States
(254) 717-7032 (Phone)

Mark W. Bennett

U.S. District Court (Northern District of Iowa) ( email )

320 6th St.
Sioux City, IA 51101
United States
712-233-3909 (Phone)

Independent ( email )

Drake University - Law School ( email )

27th & Carpenter Sts.
Des Moines, IA 50311
United States

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