In The Shadow Of Exile
Rochester is the city in the best position to tell us whether Exile does what its proponents say it should: reduce gun violence. It has the longest-running program in the country, which continues today. Yet in Rochester, like everywhere else, no one knows whether Exile works. In the program’s 18 years, judges have handed out 633 sentences for a total of 3,411 years in federal prison. But the city had 24 gun murders last year — giving it a rate more than four times New York City’s. And community relations with police, as in many cities, are strained. The enthusiasm for Exile appears to be based more in rhetoric than in evidence, which leaves some people asking whether it’s worth the human costs.