In this wide-ranging analysis, Michael Tonry argues that those responsible for crafting America's criminal justice policy have lost their way in a forest of good intentions, political cynicism, and public anxieties. American crime control politics over time have created a punishment system no one
would knowingly have chosen yet one that no one seems able to change. Prevailing sensibilities rather than timeless truths govern the American war on crime, resulting in policies both wasteful and harsh. U.S. crime trends closely resemble those of other nations, yet American policies, shaped by
different sensibilities, are much more punitive.
Seamlessly blending history with an easy presentation of day-to-day realities and empirical evidence, Tonry proposes tangible, specific solutions that can serve as a platform for criminal justice reform. We know how to create an effective
and humane criminal justice system. Now we must have the courage to do so, by abandoning the current status quo, which is both costly and cruel in favor of practices that will move America closer to the mainstream of contemporary Western values.
1. Sense and Sensibility in American Penal Culture
2. Why So Many Americans Are in Prison
3. Cycles and Sensibilities
4. Moral Panics and "Windows of Opportunity"
5. Crime Trends and the Effects of Crime Control
6. Formerly Unthinkable Policies
7. Unthought Thoughts
8.
Better Understanding, People, and Policies
References
Index
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Michael Tonry is one of the nation's most respected experts on crime and punishment. The author of the highly acclaimed Malign Neglect and (with Norval Morris) Between Prison and Probation, he is Sonosky Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota. He has worked as an
advisor to federal and state agencies in the United States, Australia and Canada, to national government agencies in European countries, and to international organizations.
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