The problem with that argument is it's pretty much the same one used by the prisoner's rights movement in the 60s. Their success in improving conditions for pr

The problem with that argument is it's pretty much the same one used by the prisoner's rights movement in the 60s. Their success in improving conditions for prisoners happened at the same time crime rate exploded. Since then politicians then vowed to "get tough on criminals" eventually in the 90s it "worked". It's not really clear that being nicer to criminals was the cause of the crime boom nor that getting tough on crime stopped it, but I think the majority of people who lived through this era see it that way. And right now they are also the majority of people who vote (older people tend to vote more often). I suspect that arguments like these won't work for another 20 to 30 years.