In "Locked In" John Pfaff makes the point that private prisons are not the problem. It is a more nuanced problem, but prosecutors play a large part in our national incarceration problems. Definitely recommend the read (or listen as an audiobook as I did).
> but prosecutors play a large part in our national incarceration problems
The problem is pro-punishment politicians. Singling out any particular office/position misses the point.
Even when judges practice discretion, pro-punishment legislators step in and introduce mandatory minimums.
And even when prosecutors practice discretion, pro-punishment judges will step in and force them to prosecute cases that the prosecutors don't want to prosecute [1].
Pfaff has pretty good data to back up his claim. He looks at legislation. He looks at mandatory minimums. Everyone plays their part, but prosecutors have a lot of power over sentencing. Plea deals play a role here.
And in many places prosecutors are politicians in a sense, because they are elected. One recommendation is to go back to appointing prosecutors rather than electing them.
So no, singling out prosecutors doesn't miss the point. It is an important point.
Yes, but it's become in the past couple years an out dated point in major cities (Boston, Philly, LA) where activist prosecutors attempting to prosecute fewer crimes and hand out lighter sentences are now being stymied by (appointed!) judges.
The problem with focusing on any particular role is that the other parts of the system will step in to force punishment.
