Lew Rockwell, founder and Chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, discusses his article “The Police State Abolishes the Trial” about the disappearance of jury trials in federal courts; the sub-1% acquittal rate for the few defendants who actually do go to trial; how prison sentences ruin lives and careers (unless you prefer working at the Waffle House); how mandatory minimum sentencing took away judicial discretion and helped the US achieve the world’s largest prison population; why jury service usually amounts to twelve people doing the prosecution’s bidding; and why “privatized” prisons are not triumphs of free market capitalism.
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