archive

The American prison state

Stephen Rushin (UC-Berkeley): Rethinking Miranda: The Post-Arrest Right to Silence. Roger Fairfax (GWU): Outsourcing Criminal Prosecution? The Limits of Criminal Justice Privatization. Justin Dickerson (Loyola): "Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job": Homeboy Industries and Restorative Justice. Alexander Volokh (Emory): Everything We Know About Faith-Based Prisons. Paul Marcus (William and Mary): Capital Punishment in the United States and Beyond. From The Public Intellectual, an interview with Barry Krisberg on gang policy; why we punish LGBT kids — especially when they’re not white — and how we might stop; the economy is down — shouldn’t violent crime be up?; and has the Obama administration made good on campaign promises for criminal justice reform? Attorney General Eric Holder's weakened plan to stop rape in prisons disappoints advocates. Peter Moskos writes in defense of flogging: Of course it's brutal — but it's better than prison. How drug cops go bad: We shouldn't be surprised when the police officers we ask to break the laws they enforce turn corrupt. A boom behind bars: Private jail operators like the Corrections Corporation of America are making millions off the crackdown on illegal aliens. Books Behind Bars: What are wardens thinking when they censor magazines and books? The least dangerous criminals in America: Why are some federal prosecutors and senators so eager to waste resources on lawbreakers who do us no harm? The American prison state: The United States incarcerates more people than any country in the world today and throughout history — the financial costs are tremendous and rising. A review of Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition by David Garland. A review of Popular Crime: Reflections on the Celebration of Violence by Bill James.