There are enormous forseeable problems with this population that will eventually return to society. He felt like he was constantly being watched- a common condition in people who've served time in prison. He was amazed when I took him to a shoe store with shoes on the shelves because when he went in there wasn't such a thing, you had to ask the clerk to see what you wanted. So I think that we'll be seeing extra strife in whatever form it will take as prisoners return to society. Wardens like relatively easy prisoners like women and pot-smokers.
Politicians exploit the situation.
Interestingly, wardens and corrections staff are probably the people I would trust most to ask who should not be in prison. Because they do see thousands of people who do not need to be there. They've been quite vocal about expressing their concern for really crowded prisons with people who don't need to be there. And I wish Congress would listen to them. If we keep up at the rate we're going, we'll spend all of our resources on prison.