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Historically, political figures from Richard Nixon onward exploited fears of crime to justify harsher sentencing laws. Promises to crack down on drugs and violent offenders led to the creation of a punitive "punishment machine"—a complex system designed to lock people away, often for minor offenses. While these policies aimed to increase public safety, they have ultimately contributed to the world's highest incarceration rates and a severely strained justice system.
Despite the longstanding momentum of this punitive approach, awareness and bipartisan consensus are now shifting. Increasingly, Americans recognize that mass incarceration is an ineffective and unjust solution, sparking a desire for change.