Sentencing and punishment Books

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThere is a growing acknowledgment amongst professionals and academics that we need to develop new responses to crime. This book provides an insight into the first introduction of restorative justice to the criminal justice system in the Republic of Ireland. By analysing six case studies of restorative conferencing events, the authors aim to address the salient question of how restorative conferencing for young offenders can facilitate an exchange process whereby forms of reparation and social regulation may be achieved. The restorative justice process has much to offer, and the authors argue that this concept, particularly as it centres on the greater use of non custodial sentences, will not only bring about changes in the law but also have significant implications for social regulation.Table of ContentsTheories of regulation and social control. Restorative justice: Philosophy, theory and practice. Youth justice in the republic of Ireland. Restorative justice in practice: The Irish case. Restorative justice in practice. Restorative process and case studies in restorative conferencing. Discussion and recommendations. About the Authors. References. Abbreviations. Preface. Advances in Sustainability and Environmental Justice. Acknowledgements. The Sustainability of Restorative Justice. The Sustainability of Restorative Justice. Copyright page. Introduction. Subject Index.

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Book SynopsisThroughout the western world public opinion has played an important role in shaping criminal justice policy. At the same time opinion polls repeatedly demonstrate that the public knows little about crime and justice, and holds negative views of the criminal justice system. This book, consisting of chapters from leading authorities in the field, is concerned to address this problem, and draws upon research in a number of different countries to address the issues arising from this state of affairs. Its main aims are: to explore the changing and evolving nature of public attitudes to sentencing to examine the factors that influence public opinion and to bring together recent international research which has demonstrated ways in which public attitudes can be changed to propose specific strategies to respond to the crisis in public confidence in criminal justice. Trade Review'The book makes a much needed and timely contribution to building a body of knowledge that deconstructs current misconceptions about public attitudes to punishment.' − SCOLAG Journal 'This book provides comprehensive coverage of some of the important issues linked to changing attitudes to punishment, and provides some fascinating and accessible insights .. as a consequence it is a significant contribution to furthering understanding'; 'At the end of the day I can think of very little else that that I would have wished had been included in this excellent text, and little that ought to be excised.' − Commonwealth Judicial Journal 'The volume will undoubtedly serve as a stimulus for more research on public opinion and attitudes about crime, thereby contributing to improvements in penal policy.' − British Journal of Criminology Table of Contents1. Public Attitudes to Punishment: The Context by Julian V. Roberts and Mike Hough 2. Measuring Attitudes to Sentencing by Loretta J. Stalans 3. Public Opinion and the Nature of Community Penalties by Julian V. Roberts 4. Cross-National Attitudes Towards Punishment by Pat Mayhew and John Kesteren 5. The Evolution of Public Attitudes to Punishment in Western and Eastern Europe by Helmut Kury, Obergfell-Fuchs and Ursula Smartt 6. Public and Judicial Attitudes to Punishment in Switzerland by André Kuhn 7. Public Support for Correctional Rehabilitation: Change or Consistency? by Francis T. Cullen, Jennifer A. Pealer, Bonnie S. Fisher, Brandon K. Applegate and Shannon A. Santana 8. Attitudes to Punishment in the US - Punitive and Liberal Opinions by John Doble 9. How Malleable are Attitudes to Crime and Punishment? Findings from a British Deliberative Poll by Mike Hough and Alison Park 10. Improving Public Knowledge about Crime and Criminal Justice by Catriona Mirrlees-Black 11. Strategies for Changing Public Attitudes to Punishment by David Indermaur and Mike Hough 12. Privileging Public Attitudes Towards Sentencing by Rod Morgan

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Book SynopsisSex offenders, and in particular paedophiles, have been the subject of much political and media attention, producing intensive debates about the best way of dealing with them. This book explores these issues, evaluating the measures in use or being considered, including drug treatment, MAPPA, the use of the Sex Offender Register, restorative justice techniques, and treatment programmes. It is concerned with high-risk sex offenders both when they are sentenced to a community order, and also when they are released back into the community after a custodial sentence. The introductory section opens with a discussion on how terms such as paedophilia are constructed and viewed, and then looks at how government policy regarding sex offending has developed over recent years. Section two looks at issues concerned with risk management, questioning whether enough is being done to monitor the risk that high-risk offenders pose when released into society; whilst section three, on risk reduction covers the main methods of treatment, including sex offender treatment programmes, pharmacotherapy (chemical castration) and restorative and reintegration techniques. Section Four focuses on specific offender groups; including female sexual offenders, sexual harm by youth, mentally disordered sexual offenders and intellectual disabled offenders. These assess in what ways these offenders are different to the 'norm' and look at how we should be dealing and treating these differences. The final section looks at social and moral responsibilities, including the patterns, prevention and protection of cyber-sex offences and media constructions of and reactions to paedophilia. In the final chapter the concept of dignity is addressed and the balance between community protection and the rights of sex offenders involved is evaluated.Trade Review'Karen Harrison, the editor, closes the preface with this comment: "whether he overall aim (to identify methods to prevent further sexual victimization) has been achieved is for the reader to assess". According to this humble reader, this aim is fully achieved if, and only if, professionals consider the conclusions reached by the authors. This is an extraordinary book that truly opens the eyes. All professionals wanting to really understand paedophilia should consider this book compulsory reading. It not only includes difficult theoretical questions but also raises practical challenges which must be taken into consideration when researching and in practice.' – Olga Sanchez De Ribera, PhD Student, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge in the Howard Journal Vol 49 No 5. December 2010Table of ContentsPrefacePart 1: Introduction 1. Paedophilia: Definitions and Aetiology 2. High-risk Sex offenders: Issues of PolicyPart 2: Risk Management 3. Effective Multi-agency Public Protection: Learning from the Research 4. The Sex Offender Register, Community Notification and Some Reflections on PrivacyPart 3: Treatment and Risk Reduction 5. An Introduction to Sex Offender Treatment Programmes and their Risk Reduction Efficacy 6. The Use of Pharmacotherapy with High-risk Sex Offenders 7. Restorative Justice and the Reintegration of High-risk Sex OffendersPart 4: Special Offender Groups 8. Female Sexual Offenders: A Special Sub-group9. Enhancing Community Collaboration to Stop Sexual Harm by Youth 10. Mentally Disordered Sex Offenders 11. Intellectualy Disabled Sexual Offenders: Subgroup Profiling and Recidivism after Outpatient TreatmentPart 4: Social and Moral Responsibilities 12. Cyber-sex Offenders: Patterns, Prevention and Protection 13. Media Constructions of and Reactions to Paedophilia in Society 14. Dignity and Dangerousness: Sex Offenders and the Community – Human Rights in the Balance?

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Book SynopsisMental health laws exist in many countries to regulate the involuntary detention and treatment of individuals with serious mental illnesses. 'Rights-based legalism' is a term used to describe mental health laws that refer to the rights of individuals with mental illnesses somewhere in their provisions. The advent of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities makes it timely to rethink the way in which the rights of individuals to autonomy and liberty are balanced against state interests in protecting individuals from harm to self or others. This collection addresses some of the current issues and problems arising from rights-based mental health laws. The chapters have been grouped in five parts as follows: - Historical Foundations - The International Human Rights Framework and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Gaps Between Law and Practice - Review Processes and the Role of Tribunals - Access to Mental Health Services Many of the chapters in this collection emphasise the importance of moving away from the limitations of a negative rights approach to mental health laws towards more positive rights of social participation. While the law may not always be the best way through which to alleviate social and personal predicaments, legislation is paramount for the functioning of the mental health system. The aim of this collection is to encourage the enactment of legal provisions governing treatment, detention and care that are workable and conform to international human rights documents.Trade Review...a thought provoking book for those with an interest in this field and I would recommend it. Sean McParland Frontline No. 84, Summer 2012Table of ContentsPART 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Rethinking Rights-Based Mental Health Laws Bernadette McSherry and Penelope Weller PART 2 HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS 2 Institutionalising the Community: The Codification of Clinical Authority and the Limits of Rights-Based Approaches Philip Fennell 3 Lost in Translation: Human Rights and Mental Health Law Penelope Weller 4 The Fusion Proposal: A Next Step? Neil Rees PART 3 THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK AND THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 5 The Expressive, Educational and Proactive Roles of Human Rights: An Analysis of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Oliver Lewis 6 Involuntary Treatment Decisions: Using Negotiated Silence to Facilitate Change? Annegret Kampf 7 Abolishing Mental Health Laws to Comply with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Tina Minkowitz PART 4 GAPS BETWEEN LAWAND PRACTICE 8 Rights-Based Legalism: Some Thoughts from the Research Genevra Richardson 9 Extra-Legislative Factors in Involuntary Status Decision-Making Ian Freckelton 10 Civil Admission Following a Finding of Unfitness to Plead Jill Peay PART 5 REVIEW PROCESSES AND THE ROLE OF TRIBUNALS 11 Involuntary Mental Health Treatment Laws: The 'Rights' and the Wrongs of Competing Models? Terry Carney 12 Reviews of Treatment Decisions: Legalism, Process and the Protection of Rights Mary Donnelly 13 Mental Health Law and Its Discontents: A Reappraisal of the Canadian Experience Joaquin Zuckerberg 14 Compulsory Outpatient Treatment and the Calculus of Human Rights John Dawson PART 6 ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES 15 Rights-Based Legalism and the Limits of Mental Health Law: The United States of America's Experience John Petrila 16 The Right of Access to Mental Health Care: Voluntary Treatment and the Role of the Law Bernadette McSherry 17 Thinking About the Rest of the World: Mental Health and Rights Outside the 'First World'Peter Bartlett

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Book SynopsisThis latest volume in the Penal Theory and Penal Ethics series addresses one of the oldestquestions in the field of criminal sentencing: should an offender's previous convictions affect the sentence? Although there is an extensive literature on the definition and use of criminal history information, the emphasis here is on the theoretical and normative aspects of considering previous convictions at sentencing. Several authors explore the theory underlying the practice of mitigating the punishments for first offenders, while others put forth arguments for enhancing sentences for recidivists.Trade ReviewThis collection is welcome as it offers insights into the problems facing sentencers and penologists in taking past convictions into account -- Susan Easton * Criminal Law Review *The editors and contributors tackle a particularly thorny issue in this elegant 256-page text: Should an offender's previous convictions affect sentence?.. Professors Roberts and von Hirsch address with signal skill the question of just deserts and proportionality, the progressive loss of mitigation, the issues of first offender discounts.. and the question of deserved punishment when recidivism is demonstrated -- Judge G. Renaud * Criminal Law Quarterly (Volume 59) *the experiences, developments and points of view in other countries, as described in this book, are very valuable to us -- J.A.W. Lensing * Trema Straftoemetings bulletin *In Previous Convictions at Sentencing Roberts and Von Hirsch have brought together a selection of leading thinkers to illuminate an aspect of punishment theory and practice that has largely remained in the shadows despite its obvious importance. An attractive feature of the book, in addition to the thoughtful and penetrating analyses that it contains, is the vigorous exchange of views that takes place between its covers. The editors have not shied away from including perspectives that are at odds with their own, or from revising and reformulating their views, or indeed from finding fault with each other's conclusions. This internal dialogue helps to expose where further critical inquiry would yield the greatest return. -- Ian O'Donnell * Punishment & Society *Table of Contents1 Proportionality and the Progressive Loss of Mitigation: Some Further Reflections Andrew von Hirsch 2 First-Offender Sentencing Discounts: Exploring the Justifi cations Julian V Roberts 3 Recidivism, Retributivism, and the Lapse Theory of Previous Convictions Jesper Ryberg 4 Repeat Offenders and the Question of Desert Youngjae Lee 5 ‘More to Apologise For’: Can We Find a Basis for the Recidivist Premium in a Communicative Theory of Punishment? Chris Bennett 6 The Questionable Relevance of Previous Convictions to Punishments for Later Crimes Michael Tonry 7 Prior-conviction Sentencing Enhancements: Rationales and Limits Based on Retributive and Utilitarian Proportionality Principles and Social Equality Goals Richard S Frase 8 The Illusion of Proportionality: Desert and Repeat Offenders Kevin R Reitz 9 Dimensions of Criminal History: Refl ections on Theory and Practice Martin Wasik 10 The Role of Previous Convictions in England and Wales Estella Baker and Andrew Ashworth 11 Previous Convictions and Proportionate Punishment under Swedish Law Petter Asp 12 Assessing the Impact of a Recidivist Sentencing Premium on Crime and Recidivism Rates Lila Kazemian

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Book SynopsisNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, STARRING MICHAEL B. JORDAN, JAMIE FOXX, AND BRIE LARSON. A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, BOSTON GLOBE, ESQUIRE, AND TIME BOOK OF THE YEAR. A #1 New York Times bestseller, this is a powerful, true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix America’s broken justice system, as seen in the HBO documentary True Justice. The US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. One in every 15 people born there today is expected to go to prison. For black men this figure rises to one in 3. And Death Row is disproportionately black, too. Bryan Stevenson grew up poor in the racially segregated South. His innate sense of justice made him a brilliant young lawyer, and one of his first defendants was Walter McMillian, a black man sentenced to die for the murder of a white woman — a crime he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, startling racial inequality, and legal brinkmanship — and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever. At once an unforgettable account of an idealistic lawyer’s coming of age and a moving portrait of the lives of those he has defended, Just Mercy is an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of justice.Trade Review‘Bryan Stevenson is America's young Nelson Mandela — a brilliant lawyer fighting with courage and conviction to guarantee justice for all.’ -- Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate‘From the frontlines of social justice comes one of the most urgent voices of our era. Bryan Stevenson is a real-life, modern-day Atticus Finch who, through his work in redeeming innocent people condemned to death, has sought to redeem the country itself. This is a book of great power and courage. It is inspiring and suspenseful. A revelation.’ -- Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns‘Bryan Stevenson is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today, and Just Mercy is extraordinary. The stories told within these pages hold the potential to transform what we think we mean when we talk about justice.’ -- Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow‘This is so important. Stevenson explains how deep-rooted racism is, while giving hope that it doesn’t have to exist.' -- Gloria Steinem‘Our American criminal justice system has become an instrument of evil. Bryan Stevenson has labored long and hard, and with great skill and temperate passion, to set things right. Words such as important and compelling may have lost their force through overuse, but reading this book will restore their meaning, along with one's hopes for humanity.’ -- Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains‘Just Mercy is as deeply moving, poignant and powerful a book as has been, and maybe ever can be, written about the death penalty, and the failures of the administration of criminal justice … [It] will make you gasp at the inhumanity of humankind.’ -- Raymond Bonner * Financial Times *‘Powerful … This book will shock, anger and inspire you.’ * Sunday Independent (Ireland) *‘Unfairness in the justice system is a major theme of our age … This book brings new life to the story by placing it in two affecting contexts: Stevenson's life work and the deep strain of racial injustice in American life … You don't have to read too long to start cheering for this man. Against tremendous odds, Stevenson has worked to free scores of people from wrongful or excessive punishment, arguing five times before the Supreme Court … The book extols not his nobility, but that of the cause, and reads like a call to action for all that remains to be done … The message of the book, hammered home by dramatic examples of one man's refusal to sit quietly and countenance horror, is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. Just Mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful … Bryan Stevenson has been angry about [the criminal justice system] for years, and we are all the better for it.’ * New York Times *‘Inspiring … A work of style, substance and clarity … Stevenson is not only a great lawyer, he's also a gifted writer and storyteller. His memoir should find an avid audience among players in the legal system — jurists, prosecutors, defense lawyers, legislators, academics, journalists — and especially anyone contemplating a career in criminal justice.’ -- Rob Warden * Washington Post *‘After the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., I wrote a couple of columns entitled When Whites Just Don’t Get It. The reaction to those columns — sometimes bewildered, resentful or unprintable — suggests to me that many whites in America don’t understand the depths of racial inequity lingering in this country. This inequity is embedded in our law enforcement and criminal justice system, and that is why Bryan Stevenson may, indeed, be America's Mandela … Stevenson, 54, grew up in a poor black neighborhood in Delaware and ended up at Harvard Law School. He started the Equal Justice Initiative, based in Montgomery, Ala., to challenge bias and represent the voiceless. It's a tale he recounts in a searing, moving and infuriating memoir that is scheduled to be published later this month, Just Mercy.’ -- Nick Kristof * New York Times *‘Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Though larger than life, Atticus exists only in fiction. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing God’s work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. Just Mercy is his inspiring and powerful story.’ -- John Grisham‘A distinguished NYU law professor and MacArthur grant recipient offers the compelling story of the legal practice he founded to protect the rights of people on the margins of American society ... Emotionally profound, necessary reading.’ STARRED REVIEW * Kirkus Reviews (Kirkus Prize Finalist) *‘Just Mercy is every bit as moving as To Kill a Mockingbird, and in some ways more so … [It] demonstrates, as powerfully as any book on criminal justice that I’ve ever read, the extent to which brutality, unfairness, and racial bias continue to infect criminal law in the United States. But at the same time that [Bryan] Stevenson tells an utterly damning story of deep-seated and widespread injustice, he also recounts instances of human compassion, understanding, mercy, and justice that offer hope ... Just Mercy is a remarkable amalgam, at once a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields.’ -- David Cole * The New York Review of Books *‘Stevenson's contributions to social justice have been remarkable. But his efforts, on top of his continuing legal practice, to provide this inside glimpse of the criminal justice system are priceless.’ * The Seattle Times *New York Times ‘100 Notable Books of 2014’‘Lawyer Bryan Stevenson has saved more than 135 people from death row, the majority of them Black men, who are disproportionately found at every stage of the US criminal justice system. In Just Mercy, he paints a picture of a system riddled with racial inequality that sentences children to die in prison and, he says, provides a better outcome if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent. The message of this astonishing memoir is that mercy is most powerful when it is freely given. -- Dua Lipa * The Guardian *‘A passionate account of the ways our nation thwarts justice and inhumanely punishes the poor and disadvantaged.’ STARRED REVIEW -- Vanessa Bush * Booklist *‘This powerful book is a damning indictment of the US “justice” system, which has the world’s highest rate of incarceration … A gifted narrator as well as a great lawyer, from his long dedication to helping the poor to achieve justice and mercy, he has learned that “each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.’ -- Brian Maye * The Irish Times *‘[T]he author’s experience with the flaws in the American justice system add extra gravity to a deeply disturbing and oft-overlooked topic.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Stevenson reveals how much of a difference believing in someone and fighting their cause can make. An incredible story … may help fuel the fire on your own journey.’ * Wellbeing *‘Just Mercy presents a scathing exposé of the inequalities, racial bias and discrimination that has characterised the US justice system ... A profoundly important work.’ -- Natalie Platten * Readings *‘Stevenson’s revelatory and thought-provoking memoir, Just Mercy, is a read that alters one’s empathy meter and forever sits deep within the psyche.’ -- Jessica Bailey * Grazia *‘A confronting look at the corrupt and prejudiced trappings of the current criminal justice system in the United States and a moving window into the lives of those persecuted by it.’ * Citizens of the World *

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Book SynopsisLOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST • NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE • A “powerful and devastating” (The Washington Post) call to free those buried alive by America’s legal system, and an inspiring true story about unwavering belief in humanity—from a gifted young lawyer and important new voice in the movement to transform the system.“An essential book for our time . . . Brittany K. Barnett is a star.”—Van Jones, CEO of REFORM Alliance, CNN Host, and New York Times bestselling author Brittany K. Barnett was only a law student when she came across the case that would change her life forever—that of Sharanda Jones, single mother, business owner, and, like Brittany, Black daughter of the rural South. A victim of America’s devastating war on drugs, Sharanda had been torn away from her young daughter and was serving a life sentence without parole—for a first-time drug offense. In Sharanda, Brittany saw haunting echoes of her own life, as the daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother. As she studied this case, a system came into focus in which widespread racial injustice forms the core of America’s addiction to incarceration. Moved by Sharanda’s plight, Brittany set to work to gain her freedom. This had never been the plan. Bright and ambitious, Brittany was a successful accountant on her way to a high-powered future in corporate law. But Sharanda’s case opened the door to a harrowing journey through the criminal justice system. By day she moved billion-dollar deals, and by night she worked pro bono to free clients in near hopeless legal battles. Ultimately, her path transformed her understanding of injustice in the courts, of genius languishing behind bars, and the very definition of freedom itself.Brittany’s riveting memoir is at once a coming-of-age story and a powerful evocation of what it takes to bring hope and justice to a system built to resist them both.NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS REVIEWS

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