This article examines the political realities of American jail administration. I argue that reforming this system will be about as difficult as bending granite. Yet I further argue that American law provides state legislators with the Herculean power to bend this granite, should they decide to do so. Through a survey of state legislators from the heartland of America, I create a stochastic profile of the lawmaker who is most likely to be a jail reformer. Then, I use this profile to develop a reform paradigm for the American jail.
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