Is the change misguided—that is, are we better off with frequent use of imprisonment? Do you see the new First Step Act of 2018 as being a positive, negative, or inconsequential change?

Here are the background materials recommended and required (*) for this Db:

*Read Chapter 3, especially pp. 46-48 on “Corrections in the Twenty-First Century.”
*Read the report State Reforms Reverse Decades of Incarceration Growth (https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2017/03/state-reforms-reverse-decades-of-incarceration-growth)

*Read the article The Senate Just Passed Criminal Justice Reform (https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/18/18140973/state-of-the-union-trump-first-step-act-criminal-justice-reform)

*Read the article Trump’s Criminal Justice Reform Is a Step in the Wrong Direction (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/opinion/trump-criminal-justice-reform.html)

Read the article Senate Passes Bipartisan Criminal Justice Bill (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/us/politics/senate-criminal-justice-bill.html?action=click&module=inline&pgtype=Homepage)

Read the article Even in Texas, Mass Imprisonment Is Going Out of Style (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/opinion/even-in-texas-mass-imprisonment-is-going-out-of-style.html)

Read Test Your Knowledge of American Incarceration (a rather interesting interactive article) (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/21/opinion/first-step-american-incarceration.html)

Any relevant material you may find from other classes and/or reliable sources.

Incorporating relevant background material, post your comments (100-250 words) on why you think these issues of sentencing and corrections reform have such widespread support. As space allows, in your own post or in your reply to another post, comment on why might change still be difficult to achieve despite that support? Is the change misguided—that is, are we better off with frequent use of imprisonment? Do you see the new First Step Act of 2018 as being a positive, negative, or inconsequential change?