The Conservative Turn Against Mass Incarceration

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. More than 2 million Americans are currently behind bars. But reformers on both sides of the aisle are finding common ground on everything from cutting back on mandatory minimum sentencing to limiting solitary confinement. Conservatives are among the loudest voices calling for an end to mass incarceration. How did this happen? How did tough-on-crime conservatives come to fight for prison reform? And what can this rare area of agreement teach us about bipartisanship in a polarized age? A new book by two Johns Hopkins University political scientists seeks to answer these questions. Why have conservatives turned against mass incarceration?