[ryan_lane]

The US already does have tough public prosecutors. It also has overly tough mandatory sentencing, poor public defender availability, extremely high plea agreement rates, and folks with a criminal history can't get jobs (and in many cases reasonable housing). We need criminal justice reform, with a focus on reducing recidivism. Our current system basically forces felons back into crime, as they have no alternative to make a living.

This idea that the US isn't tough on crime is mind boggling. The US is tougher than many authoritarian regimes. We have the 5th highest per-capita prisoner population, and the highest total prisoner population in the world. At some point we have to realize that putting more people into prison doesn't solve our problems.

Don't take this the wrong way. I'm not advocating for lighter prison sentences for violent crime, but a small minority of the prison population is violent offenders, and really, a small minority of overall crime is violent and as a whole the rate for violent crime has been on decline since the 70s, with the current rates at a historical low.

Being tough on crime is mostly a political tool, where police departments and prosecutors juke stats and over-prosecute crimes. Again, the vast majority occur through plea agreements, so people don't really get to defend themselves, and they settle because they otherwise face stiffer sentences and can't afford legal representation. This game is for people like you, who vote enthusiastically for people who pretend to solve problems.