The apparent paradox of more prisons and less punishment for violent criminals is explained at least in part by the war on drugs. That war has undermined the ability of U.S. penal institutions to protect the public; since prisons are filled beyond capacity with nonviolent drug offenders, violent repeat offenders are released from prison early or are never imprisoned in the first place. As prison crowding worsens, many public officials are embracing alternatives to incarceration, such as electronic home monitoring, boot camps, and intensive supervised probation. Although these alternatives have a place, their benefits are frequently overstated. The most effective reform is to return prisons to their primary mission of incapacitating violent criminals. The revision or repeal of mandatory minimum sentences for consensual offenses, tighter parole standards, and tougher laws aimed at repeat violent offenders can help Federal and State criminal justice systems fulfill their basic duty of protecting innocent people from force and fraud. 175 notes and 5 figures