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John Pfaff @JohnFPfaff
, 9 tweets, 6 min read Read on Twitter
Prosecutors have been the main engine of mass incarceration and mass punishment—and can be the engine of reform as well.

Watch the #PowerOfProsecutors from @BklynDefender and @ACLU: aclu.org/issues/mass-in…
Why this @aclu/@BklynDefender series on the #PowerOfProsecutors matters:

We are the ONLY country in the world to elect prosecutors, yet most voters have NO idea what prosecutors do.
I’ve heard prosecutors talk about being asked why they defend criminals, and public defenders say that they’ve been criticized for charging mandatory minimums.

Voters truly have almost no idea how the system really works.
So in just a few short videos, the #PowerOfProsecutors series explains how powerful prosecutors are, how they shape bail, their control over charges, the (lack of) accountability, and the central role of plea bargaining.

aclu.org/issues/mass-in…
Here are some other sources on prosecutors, for those interested:

@ACLU_NorCal put this together on CA DAs, but it provides a fantastic overview of prosecutorial power: meetyourda.org
There is @adamjohnfoss’s @TEDTalks talk, about how prosecutors need not use their discretion to be punitive, but that they are poorly trained otherwise: npr.org/2018/03/16/593…
And @ACLU_Mass has released its own “What a Difference a DA Makes,” which not only evaluates DAs in Massachusetts, but has a lot of other more-generalist resources as well: dadifference.org
I’ve always thought that this @nytimes piece clearly shows how much local prosecutors matter. The US as a *nation* hasn’t incarcerated or decarcerated: even within states, there’s huge differences across counties: nytimes.com/2016/09/02/ups…
And it is important to remember that prosecutors are powerful POLITICAL actors beyond their county borders: their state-wide associations can be powerful lobbyists for tough-on-crime policies: democracyjournal.org/arguments/the-… and thenation.com/article/prosec…
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More from @JohnFPfaff see all

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1. Impressively, NBC News manages to cover this whole Fed-prisoners-not-abused-during-shutdown story WORSE than USA Today, even tho it dedicated three reporters to the topic. Some highlights: nbcnews.com/news/us-news/h…
2. Staffers were annoyed that inmates had one good meal, maybe even two, while they fretted about families and bills.

Because prisoners, locked away from family and jobs and etc etc have no such worries. They ate chicken without a care in the world! Pure joy, that prison life.
3. Heaping piles of steak and shrimp. People went thru the food line TWICE.

Our prisons also still use nutriloaf in many places. That went unmentioned.
Read 6 tweets
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1. Nope! Just think about

Every.
Single.
Cost-benefit analysis of crime/punishment.
in every.
SINGLE.
Academic/think-tank.
Paper.

The comparison: the crime-savings from prison vs. the fiscal cost of prisons.

THAT.
IS NOT.
THE RIGHT COST.
2. That fiscal cost isn’t really a cost, at all. Two-thirds of the $50 billion we spend is wages, so it’s some sort of strange Keynesian job macro-multiplier… thing. (Macro was… not my strong suit.)

But the social costs? In academic cost-benefits?

🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗
3. Now that’s a little unfair. Some people admit these costs are there, but we just don’t have any handle on them…

(Why? why don’t we? why don’t those paper express horror and outrage that we don’t? why aren’t their following papers efforts to fix that? But I digress.)
Read 7 tweets
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1. Earlier this week, the National Police Association filed a bar complaint against incoming Boston DA Rachael Rollins for her pledge to generally avoid prosecuting 15 lower-level crimes.

The complaint (nationalpolice.org/dev/wp-content…) is… underwhelming, but nonetheless important.
2. One of the most insightful books I’ve read recently is Breaking the Pendulum (amazon.com/Breaking-Pendu…) by Goodman, Page, and @MichelleSPhelps.

It’s a deep look at the constant struggles between “reforms” and “law and order” that have defined the history of American CJ.
3. The oversimplified summary (Twitter!): progressive/tough-on-crime advocates constantly struggle, and periods of “reform” or “reaction” occur when macro-level shifts (economy, politics, crime) change the balance of power between them.
Read 10 tweets

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This is what an American internment camp looks like.
This is the T. Don Hutto detention facility in Taylor, Texas. It’s operated by CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America or CCA), a private prison company that has been contracted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The detention center is named for the co-founder of CCA, T. Don Hutto. The detention center is a major employer in the area, and they seem to pay people pretty well, too.
Read 42 tweets
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This is the ICE detention center for women in Taylor, TX, outside of Austin. The facility is operated by Core Civic, a for-profit prison operator listed on the NYSE under the ticker-symbol CXW. This particular detention camp holds 512 women. 1/12
Last year, Core Civic made about $180 million dollars, and paid out 90% of that as dividends to its investors. The company is classified by the IRS as a Real Estate Investment Trust, which means it doesn't pay federal income tax on most of its earnings, nor do its investors. 2/12
In its annual financial statements, one of the company's metrics for success is "occupancy rate." This is the same metric hotels use. Some of these women are being detained for over a year without a hearing, legal representation, or charge. 3/12
Read 13 tweets
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Gretel Katz, my grandmother, was once an illegal immigrant in a country that didn't want her.

In 1938, she fled to Switzerland from Nazi-occupied Austria.

Gretel would have been deported were it not for Paul Grüninger, a man who didn't believe in borders. (More on him shortly)
Gretel was raised in Vienna, a dancer in the ballet at the famed Wiener Staatsoper, the Vienna State Opera house. She was 15 and had recently earned a pension, awarded after 9 years work. It was meant to be her job for life.

Here she is on the right with a Viennese opera singer.
In March of 1938, Hitler decreed Jews could not participate in the arts in Vienna.

On April 23rd, 1938, Gretel was handed a letter after a performance at the Staatsoper, addressed to her father Max.
Read 41 tweets
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Good morning. Here is a thread with some actions you can take to help migrant children, separated families, and families seeking asylum who are currently being imprisoned by the government.
Donate to @asylumadvocacy (Asylum Seekers Advocacy Project), or sign up to volunteer if you're a lawyer, law student, or interpreter. ASAP runs essential programs including a a legal emergency room, & uses a remote representation model to reach detainees. asylumadvocacy.org/get-involved/
In Arizona, by any chance? Get involved with the @florenceproject, which provides direct legal & social services for detained adults & children in AZ. They need attorneys, interpreters, researchers, medical professionals, and administrative assistance. firrp.org/getinvolved/vo…
Read 13 tweets
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the detention of immigrant kids & families isn't all new, but thanks to @chrislhayes and others, it's finally getting the mainstream attention and outrage it deserves. many have asked what they can do to help - a few ideas. #EndFamilySeparation #KeepFamiliesTogether 1/
first: money! there are fantastic, smart, hardworking attorneys in the trenches doing this grueling work every day. give to them. a few suggestions in the thread to follow. (there are many people doing this vital work - not an exhaustive list.) 2/
has a bond fund to help parents reunite with their children. they're also raising $$ to provide lawyers to unaccompanied kids facing deportation - that's right, if a toddler can't pay for a lawyer, she's on her own. that's where @RAICESTEXAS comes in. 3/
Read 8 tweets
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He was 14 when he was falsely arrested & prosecuted. 14. Years. Old. His trial lasted a single day. He spent 17 innocent years behind bars & the rest on state supervision. Impossible to heal. And no one will be held accountable.
Powerful photo of one of my favorite judges-Judge Simpson-consoling Mr. Bunn. "I am more than emotional about this day," said Simpson as her voice cracked. "You were 14 at the time. This shouldn't have ever happened."
Daily reminder of the #PowerofProsecutors. They had (still have) the power to decide whether to charge, whether to charge a child as an adult, & what to charge. They are criminal justice gatekeepers. Not judges. Not police. More: aclu.org/prosecutors.
Read 7 tweets

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