Localizing Mass Incarceration: Prosecutorial Discretion and State-County Autonomy

• In Event: How Law, Politics, and Economy Shaped Mass Incarceration

Abstract

The criminological literature has long emphasized that prosecutorial discretion shapes confinement outcomes, and subsequently, broader incarceration trends. However, the study of American mass incarceration is predominantly situated at the national or state-level. While it is well-understood that units within states vary immensely in penal intensity, the field is only beginning to develop a more localized view of how prosecutorial behaviors, jurisdictional features, and state-level characteristics interact to produce punishment outcomes. This study contributes to the discussion by more clearly developing the broader state-level characteristics that theoretically shape prosecutorial power. Specifically, we apply the concepts of “Home rule” and “Dillon’s rule” – terms for the extent of autonomy that states confer to their counties – to study the extent to which local prosecutors are constrained by broader state institutional arrangements, and to assess whether such dynamics influence county rates of confinement.

Authors

• Kristina J. Thompson, Georgia Southern University

• Joshua H. Williams, University of Minnesota Duluth

• Luis C. Torres, Temple University