Sixty Years On — Cause for Pause

By Stephen R. LaCheen, Esq.

October 2019

A well-known criminal defense attorney analyzes changes he has witnessed in the criminal justice system over 60 years of law practice. Mr. LaCheen argues that the War on Drugs and War on Crime claimed a crime wave and used the hysteria the media generated to ramp up penalties; the result was a dramatic increase in the prison population and the decimation of a generation of African-American men. As for the new prison reform law, he notes its impact remains to be seen.