The Texas Public Policy Foundation is at the forefront of a broader rethinking of criminal justice issues by many advocates of free market-oriented policies. There is an increased recognition that alternatives to prison for nonviolent offenders can both reduce recidivism and costs to taxpayers.
Justice doesn’t have to take a toll
Most Americans embrace the concept that incarceration is for people we are afraid of, not those we are mad it. Are we afraid of our fellow Americans who haven’t paid a traffic fine or court fee? Put another way, who is really scared of an Austin mother of five named Valerie Gonzales who in 2016...