The Legislative Budget Board declared in early 2008 that Texas taxpayers would no longer be handcuffed with a billion dollars of new prisons. However, Texans need not worry that they are saving money by opening the floodgates for violent offenders. The hard reality is that Texas is not going “soft on crime,” but it is getting smarter.
Criminal Justice
West Virginia can reduce recidivism — Virginia shows how
For decades, America’s response to crime has largely been measured by the number of prison beds it could fill. Politicians competed to be “tough on crime,” while correctional systems focused on punishment rather than rehabilitation. Yet, despite spending billions of taxpayer dollars on incarceration, many states continue to struggle with high recidivism rates and revolving...
July 16, 2026