Interesting paper. I do like that it addresses that many prison wins could be had through prosecutorial reforms. While the War on Drugs may have little secondary effect, it was in the same timeframe as "tough on crime" rhetoric as a whole, and with it came prosecutorial aggressiveness.
Also the decline of the middle class began around this time period as well...
The paper also notes how incredibly difficult prosecutorial reforms would be to come by, which seems both true and depressing.
It does not gloss over that; it considers that possibility in detail, and addresses it with facts.
But ultimately, yes: the problem isn't the war on drugs or long sentences (at least not directly), but rather the staffing and aggressiveness of prosecutors.
Yup, I changed my comment while you were replying. I still disagree that a lot of this isn't the result of the War on Drugs (and there are studies that agree[1]: "More than 50 percent of people in federal prisons are incarcerated for drug law violations. Almost 500,000 people are behind bars for a drug law violation on any given night in the United States – ten times the total in 1980.") but again we end at the same conclusion.
Also the decline of the middle class began around this time period as well...
The paper also notes how incredibly difficult prosecutorial reforms would be to come by, which seems both true and depressing.