Why So Many Americans Are Unnecessarily Incarcerated

'A new report published by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law called,  “Unnecessarily Incarcerated,” estimates that America could release 39% of its total prison population with little to no risk to public safety. Lauren-Brooke Eisen, the Brennan Center for Justice’s top researcher, explains that their research team spent three years analyzing criminal codes, convictions, and sentences. They determined 25% of prisoners would be better served by alternatives to incarceration, and  that others have served sufficiently long sentences and could be released.' -- +The Leonard Lopate Show from WNYC