Capital punishment will not go away. The latest events bringing the issue to the forefront of society are the Washington snipers, terrorism and the spate of cases of innocent death-row individuals proven by DNA analysis. This vexing societal issue will no doubt be impacted in America by pro-capital punishment views of the present administration in Washington.

A key event in South Africa's recent past was the granting of amnesty through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This thought-provoking collection of essays explores issues such as:7Was amnesty in South Africa a political compromise?7What are the advantages of truth commissions versus legal trials?7Who decided who was granted amnesty and on what grounds?7How do the victims feel about the truth commission process?7Did the amnesty process make a meaningful contribution to reconciliation?Contributors to the volume include Antjie Krog, Alex Boraine, George Bizos and Albie Sachs, Dumisa Ntsebeza, Van Zyl Slabbert, and Pumia Gobodo-Madikizela.

By quadrupling the number of people behind bars in two decades, the United States has become the world leader in incarceration. Much has been written on the men who make up the vast majority of the nation's two million inmates. But what of the women they leave behind? "Doing Time Together" vividly details the ways that prisons shape and infiltrate the lives of women with husbands, fiances, and boyfriends on the inside.
Megan Comfort spent years getting to know women visiting men at San Quentin State Prison, observing how their romantic relationships drew them into contact with the penitentiary. Tangling with the prison's intrusive scrutiny and rigid rules turns these women into "quasi-inmates," eroding the boundary between home and prison and altering their sense of intimacy, love, and justice. Yet Comfort also finds that with social welfare weakened, prisons are the most powerful public institutions available to women struggling to overcome untreated social ills and sustain relationships with marginalized men. As a result, they express great ambivalence about the prison and the control it exerts over their daily lives.
An illuminating analysis of women caught in the shadow of America's massive prison system, Comfort's book will be essential for anyone concerned with the consequences of our punitive culture.

From the chain gang to the electric chair, the problem of how to deal with criminals has long been debated. What explains this concern with getting punishment right? And why do attitudes toward particular punishments change radically over time? In addressing these questions, Philip Smith attacks the comfortable myth that punishment is about justice, reason, and law. Instead he argues that punishment is an essentially irrational act founded in ritual as a means to control evil without creating more of it in the process.
"Punishment and Culture" traces three centuries of the history of punishment, looking in detail at issues ranging from public executions and the development of the prison to Jeremy Bentham's notorious panopticon and the invention of the guillotine. Smith contends that each of these attempts to achieve sterile bureaucratic control was thwarted as uncontrollable cultural forces generated alternative visions of heroic villains, darkly gothic technologies, and sacred awe. Moving from Andy Warhol to eighteenth-century highwaymen to Orwell's "1984," Smith puts forward a dazzling account of the cultural landscape of punishment. His findings will fascinate students of sociology, history, criminology, law, and cultural studies.

Evaluation by a retired warden of the Reprieve Unit in Galveston

Zvi Preigerzon wrote memoirs about his time in the Gulag in 1958, long before Solzhenitsyn and without any knowledge of the other publications on this subject. It was one of the first eyewitness accounts of the harsh reality of Soviet Gulags. Even after the death of Stalin, when the whole Gulag system was largely disbanded, writing about them could be regarded as an act of heroism. Preigerzon attempted to document and analyze his own prison camp experience and portray the Jewish prisoners he encountered in forced labor camps. Among these people, we meet scientists, engineers, famous Jewish writers and poets, young Zionists, a devoted religious man, a horse wagon driver, a Jewish singer of folk songs, and many, many others. As Preigerzon put it, "Each one had his own story, his own soul, and his own tragedy."

Before the final execution in 1962, more than 700 men and women were executed by hanging in Canada. Legal scholar Dale Brawn shines a light into a dark corner of Canadian history with dramatic stories of the condemned and their last moments.

This is the story of the toughest sentencing law in America as chronicled by those who were intimately involved in the fight to see it enacted and who believe in it passionately. It is the story of one family's heart-break, of the difference one ordinary man can make, of behind-the-scenes maneuvering by soft-on-crime, liberal politicians in an effort to eviscerate the law, and it's the story of the ultimate victory by a majority of Californians who, in a reversal of decades of citizen neglect, defied the crime "experts" and voted for commonsense and justice.

In a public square in Beijing in 1904, multiple murderer Wang Weiqin was executed before a crowd of onlookers. He was among the last to suffer the extreme punishment known as lingchi. Called by Western observers "death by a thousand cuts" or "death by slicing," this penalty was reserved for the very worst crimes in imperial China.

A unique interdisciplinary history, "Death by a Thousand Cuts" is the first book to explore the history, iconography, and legal contexts of Chinese tortures and executions from the tenth century until lingchi's abolition in 1905. The authors then turn their attention to an in-depth investigation of "oriental" tortures in the Western imagination. While early modern Europeans often depicted Chinese institutions as rational, nineteenth- and twentieth-century readers consumed pictures of lingchi executions as titillating curiosities and evidence of moral inferiority. By examining these works in light of European conventions associated with despotic government, Christian martyrdom, and ecstatic suffering, the authors unpack the stereotype of innate Chinese cruelty and explore the mixture of fascination and revulsion that has long characterized the West's encounter with "other" civilizations.

Compelling and thought-provoking, "Death by a Thousand Cuts" questions the logic by which states justify tormenting individuals and the varied ways by which human beings have exploited the symbolism of bodily degradation for political aims.

This title presents public reinforcement of white supremacy. Lynch mobs in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America often exacted horrifying public torture and mutilation on their victims. In ""Lynching and Spectacle"", Amy Wood explains what it meant for white Americans to perform and witness these sadistic spectacles and what they derived from them. Lynching, Wood argues, overlapped with a wide range of cultural practices and performances, both traditional and modern, including public executions, religious rituals, photography, and cinema. The connections between lynching and these practices encouraged the horrific violence committed and gave it social acceptability.Wood expounds on the critical role lynching spectacles played in establishing and affirming white supremacy at the turn of the century, particularly in towns and cities experiencing great social instability and change. She also shows how the national dissemination of lynching images fueled the momentum of the anti lynching movement and ultimately led to the decline of lynching. By examining lynching spectacles alongside both traditional and modern practices and within both local and national contexts, Wood reconfigures our understanding of lynching's relationship to modern life.

Every criminal is entitled to due process of the law and this fact forms the cornerstone of any civilised judicial system. In India there is a spate of lynching in recent times. How do we interpret this new form of justice system in present context? Have the people lost their faith in the police completely to indulge in wanton acts of vigilante justice? Or is it that under particular regime tenure, people become more confident and daring! Daredevil acts are done by the coward on behalf of the local community. Mob psychology shows that individuals tend to behave in a different manner as part of a group in contrast to acting independently. Individuals in a group defer their goals and take upon the identity of the group. Therefore, members of a group are likely to commit acts they would never commit alone. An incident of mob justice, in addition to being a shocking indicator of the psychological mindset of a society also suggests a failed justice delivery mechanism. If instant justice is meted out to an offender then is the punishment just in degree for a crime? Humans use threats and violence to dominate, and also resort to cheating, deceit or negotiation to obtain status and valued resources. Moreover impulsive violent behaviours are frequently labelled emotional violence and are linked with emotions such as anger and fear. The common man, the politician, the police, the judiciary and the media if work together the barbaric tradition of mob justice in modern times can be nipped in the bud.

How can you help someone who doesn't want to be helped? Should you even try? If motivation is considered not only as an intrinsic attribute of the offender, but dependent upon a range of factors including what obstacles there are, what sort of changes are needed and the kind of intervention on offer, steps can be taken to improve the situation.

Mary McMurran has skilfully brought together eminent researchers and practitioners, who provide the reader with best knowledge and practice from two major fields-addictions and criminological psychology-to examine the therapeutic process and suggest how best to engage offenders in therapy. Throughout, ethical issues surrounding motivating offenders to change are closely scrutinised.

This book is an invaluable resource and guide to those training and working with offenders and training staff, including clinical and prison psychologists, probation officers, forensic psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, occupational therapists , counsellors, and prison officers.

"Scholars and practitioners who despair because 'the people who are most in need of treatment are the most difficult to engage' will feel optimistic and reinvigorated after reading this book. Motivating Offenders to Change provides the most valuable and comprehensive information available anywhere about how to encourage offenders to attend sessions and to comply with and benefit from treatment." David P. Farrington, Professor of Psychological Criminology at Cambridge University, UK

"This excellent book is a must-read for all who are involved in the criminal justice system. It challenges the idea that confrontation with offenders is necessary and demonstrates that effective treatment results from building effective relationships with these clients. McMurran's book is a groundbreaking synthesis of what is known from various fields about motivating offenders." William L. Marshall, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Psychiatry at Queen's University, Kingston, Canada

One of the most ritualized spectacles of colonial and early national New England, public execution was intended to warn of the wages of sin, reconcile the convict to both God and the community, and demonstrate the cooperative authority of church and state. The clergy played a central role in the ritual itself and provided one of the primary explications of it: the execution sermon. In his in-depth study, Seay analyzes just over 100 such sermons preached and published in colonial and early national New England. After placing the execution sermon in its ritual and literary context, he explores three interrelated themes-human sinfulness, the economy of conversion, and the nature and function of civil government-and outlines how theological explications of capital crime and its punishment changed over the course of 150 years. Seay offers more than a description of the content of these sermons; he explores how theological interpretations evolved in relation to larger cultural trends in early New England. Seay concludes that as long as the Congregational church remained established, executions were public, public discourse was restricted to an educated elite, and execution sermons remained the definitive word on crime and punishment. The decades following the American Revolution, however, brought the slow disestablishment of the church, the privatization of executions, and the democratization of public discourse. As a result of these cultural changes, the execution sermon slowly lost its currency in New England, and this genre of preaching simply disappeared. This book will appeal to those interested in American History, theology, and the ministry.

A significant chapter in the history of American social reform is traced in this skillful account of the rise of the New York penitentiary system at a time when the United States was garnering international acclaim for its penal methods. Beginning with Newgate, an ill-fated institution built in New York City and named after the famous British prison, W. David Lewis describes the development of such well-known institutions as Auburn Prison and Sing Sing, and ends with the establishment of Clinton Prison at Dannemora. In the process, he analyzes the activities and motives of such penal reformers as Thomas Eddy, the Quaker merchant who was chiefly responsible for the founding of the penitentiary system in New York; Elam Lynds, whose unsparing use of the lash made him one of the most famous wardens in American history; and Eliza W. Farnham, who attempted to base the treatment of convicts upon the pseudoscience of phrenology.

The history of the Auburn penal system copied throughout the world in the nineteenth century is the central topic of Lewis's study. Harsh and repressive discipline was the rule at Auburn; by night, the inmates were kept in solitary confinement and by day they were compelled to maintain absolute silence while working together in penitentiary shops. Moreover, the proceeds of their labor were expected to cover the full cost of institutional maintenance, turning the prison into a factory. (Indeed, Auburn Prison became a leading center of silk manufacture for a time.)

Lewis shows how the rise and decline of the Auburn system reflected broad social and intellectual trends during the period. Conceived in the 1820s, a time of considerable public anxiety, the methods used at Auburn were seriously challenged twenty years later, when a feeling of social optimism was in the air. The Auburn system survived the challenge, however, and its methods, only slightly modified, continued to be used in dealing with most of the state's adult criminals to the end of the century.

First published in 1965, From Newgate to Dannemora was the first in-depth treatment of American prison reform that took into account the broader context of political, economic, and cultural trends in the early national and Jacksonian period. With its clear prose and appealing narrative approach, this paperback edition will appeal to a new generation of readers interested in penology, the history of New York State, and the broader history of American social reform."

Bringing together new research, this book advances current theoretical understandings of punishment and control in society. It provides a critical analysis of institutions, punishment and the law, and explores the delivery of punishment and experience of incarceration in Western societies from the early-nineteenth century.

"I learned that the problems were much deeper than a flawed criminal justice system, and that our work needed to begin in our relationships with each other and the natural world, and most importantly, with ourselves." (from the preface) Restorative justice, as it exists in Canada and the U.S., has been co-opted and relegated to the sidelines of the dominant criminal justice system. In Security, With Care, Elizabeth M. Elliott argues that restorative justice cannot be actualized solely within the criminal justice system. If it isn't who we are, says Elliott, then the policies will never be sustainable. Restorative justice must be more than a program within the current system - it must be a new paradigm for responding to harm and conflict. Facilitating this shift requires a rethinking of the assumptions around punishment and justice, placing emphasis instead on values and relationships. But if we can achieve this change, we have the potential to build a healthier, more ethical and more democratic society.

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES - #1 "NEW YORK TIMES "BESTSELLER
With a career, a boyfriend, and a loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the reckless young woman who delivered a suitcase of drug money ten years before. But that past has caught up with her. Convicted and sentenced to fifteen months at the infamous federal correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut, the well-heeled Smith College alumna is now inmate #11187-424--one of the millions of people who disappear "down the rabbit hole" of the American penal system. From her first strip search to her final release, Kerman learns to navigate this strange world with its strictly enforced codes of behavior and arbitrary rules. She meets women from all walks of life, who surprise her with small tokens of generosity, hard words of wisdom, and simple acts of acceptance. Heartbreaking, hilarious, and at times enraging, Kerman's story offers a rare look into the lives of women in prison--why it is we lock so many away and what happens to them when they're there.
Praise for "Orange Is the New Black"
"Fascinating . . . The true subject of this unforgettable book is female bonding and the ties that even bars can't unbind."--"People" (four stars)
"I loved this book. It's a story rich with humor, pathos, and redemption. What I did not expect from this memoir was the affection, compassion, and even reverence that Piper Kerman demonstrates for all the women she encountered while she was locked away in jail. I will never forget it."--Elizabeth Gilbert, author of "Eat, Pray, Love"
"This book is impossible to put down because Kerman] could be you. Or your best friend. Or your daughter."--"Los Angeles Times"
"Moving . . . transcends the memoir genre's usual self-centeredness to explore how human beings can always surprise you."--"USA Today"
"It's a compelling awakening, and a harrowing one--both for the reader and for Kerman."--Newsweek.com
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This book documents the state of the art on Victim-Offender Mediation with youth offenders in 15 European nations (Austria, Belgium, England and Wales, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden). It provides an up-do date review of current theory and practice and presents a critical discussion of problems and benefits which may help guide future policy decisions and applications. The book informs both those who are interested in evaluating the current state of affairs of Victim-Offender Mediation with youth offenders in Europe, and those who would like to promote Victim-Offender Mediation in their own countries.

The common format used in each chapter facilitates comparison across countries. Per country, five areas of investigation are explored and discussed: norms and legislation allowing for the implementation of victim-offender mediation programmes; values and theoretical frameworks of victim-offender mediation; organizational structure of victim-offender mediation services; professional characteristics of mediators; benefits, potential problems, and criticisms of current practice.

"The Humiliation of Sinners is the work of a formidable scholar whose intensive research . . . produced a bold reinterpretation of the history of medieval penance." Catholic Historical Review"Mansfield's book challenges long-held assumptions about the disappearance of public penance after the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. . . . The Humiliation of Sinners shows that Mansfield was a young woman of extraordinary promise in the field of medieval studies." Choice"Mansfield argues that public penance continued to flourish throughout the thirteenth century. . . . She examines a rich variety of sources drawn primarily from northern France. The surviving narratives report a surprising number of cases of public penance involving notorious figures." Law and History Review"This book is a major achievement. Its masterly synthesis is extensively documented, based on very close reading of a wide range of manuscript and printed material. Coherent in itself, it contains much of value beyond its own immediate concerns." French HistoryThis compelling book, first published in 1995, changed historians' understanding of the history of public penance, a topic crucial to debates about the complex evolution of individualism in the West. Mary C. Mansfield demonstrates that various forms of public humiliation, imposed on nobles and peasants alike for shocking crimes as well as for minor brawls, survived into the thirteenth century and beyond."

The last few years have seen a marked change in attitudes to the rehabilitation and management of offenders. It is now impossible to ignore evidence which demonstrates the possibilities for reducing reoffending. This book assembles and consolidates that evidence, and indicates the implications for both practice and research. Professionals in probation, parole and law, as well as in forensic psychology, psychiatry, nursing, and prison management and policy, will find this book of direct relevance to their work and thinking. It will be of interest and value to practitioners, academics and researchers across the whole field of adult and juvenile criminal justice. A key emphasis of the book is the relationship between research and practice: the evidence presented here constitutes a significant advancement in knowledge in the social sciences generally, and the findings are of considerable practical importance, in providing guidelines of relevance to practitioners and policy-makers throughout the criminal justice system.