Undoing Mass Incarceration: Lessons from Florida’s Rising and then Falling Prison Populations

• In Event: 50 Years of Mass Incarceration: Survey of Harm, II

Abstract

For decades Florida’s prison population, like that of the United States more generally, grew on an annual basis. This continual growth resulted in historically unprecedented rates of imprisonment or “mass incarceration.” Along with this growth in imprisonment rates, racial imbalances in imprisonment ballooned and individuals convicted of felonies accumulated increasing criminal history. Yet, since the Great Recession, Florida’s prison population and racial disparities therein has fallen despite the noted growth in defendant criminal history. This decline in prison use was not driven primarily by changes in sentencing law, instead practitioners moderated sentencing punitiveness by changing how they implemented existing policies. These changes have straightforward implications for those seeking to end mass incarceration in the United States.

Author

• Ojmarrh Mitchell, Arizona State University