Almost none of that growth comes from changes to federal law. It's almost entirely state and local laws. During the 1980s it was the War on Drugs, but during

Almost none of that growth comes from changes to federal law. It's almost entirely state and local laws. During the 1980s it was the War on Drugs, but during the 90s it was three-strikes and zero tolerance laws. The best work on "the carceral state" being done right now is by a UPenn professor, Marie Gottschalk. Check out her books.