This strong indictment of the current prison system, undertaken by two respected experts on behalf of the American Friends Service Committee, traces the history and features of our penal system, offers strong ethical and moral assessments of it, and lays out a whole new paradigm of criminal justice based on restorative justice and reconciliation. The book puts forward a 12-point plan for immediate changes. "Beyond Prisons" opens a long-needed national dialogue on our responsibilities as citizens and as a nation to provide remediation rather than mere retributive incarceration, answerable to the common good and the justice of God.
Laura Magnani is Assistant Regional Director for Justice and Youth, American Friends Service Committee, Berkley, USA. Jamie Bissonnette is Criminal Justice Coordinator for the AFSC's New England office and serves on the boards of the Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services. Harmon L Wray is Executive Director of the National Association of Sentencing Advocates.
Acknowledgments Introduction: A new Morality Confession and Healing Justice Definitions: More than Mere Words Outline of the Book History of a Failed System The Philadelphia Experiment The Penitentiary System-Religious Roots The Penitentiary System-Philosophical Roots The Panopticon The Development of the Penitentiary System The dynamics of Crime And Punishment in America The Problem The Intersection of Race and Class Practicing White Supremacy The Legacy of Economic Dominance: Class In our Backyards: The Penal System at the Local level Policing In the Courthouse: The U.S. Adversarial Legal System The Pre-trial Process County Jails Probation and Community Corrections Taking Local Communities Seriously Sentencing: The Cold Heart of tHe Penal System The California Example Federal Sentencing Policy Carrying Out the Drug War Three Strikes The Death Penalty Throwing Away the Key: Life without Mercy Parole: The Terminating Program in the Rehabilitative Model Extra Punishment for Sex Offenders Criminal Records: The Permanent Punishment Cages: State and Federal Prisons Today The Corporatization of Punishment Private Prisons and Accountability Prison Guards The Super-max and Other Forms of Torture Manufacturing Madness Prison Gang Policies: A Threat to Our Security Political Prisoners Immigrants in the Criminal Justice System Sexism Women Sexual Relations and Prison Rape Transgender Prisoners Prison and Disability The Mentally Ill Health Care Spanning Generations: Impact of Prisons on Families Prison Ministry Youth, Poverty, and Delinquency History of the Juvenile Justice System The Language of Demonization Criminalization of Youth Creating Gangs Zero Tolerance An Alternative Vision of Justice Survivors Punishment Forgiveness Breaking the Cycle Searching for a new Justice Paradigm Can Prisons Rehabilitate? From Prison Abolition to a New Paradigm Reform vs. Abolition Alternatives Restorative/Peace-building Justice Problems with Restorative Justice Examples of Peace-building Justice AFSC's Twelve-point Plan Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
