Description
Book SynopsisThe imprisonment rate in America has grown by a factor of five since 1972. In that time, punishment policies have toughened, compassion for prisoners has diminished, and prisons have become worse-a stark contrast to the origins of the prison 200 years ago as a humanitarian reform, a substitute for capital and corporal punishment and banishment. So what went wrong? How can prisons be made simultaneously more effective and more humane? Who should be sent there in the first place? What should happen to them while they are inside? When, how, and under what conditions should they be released? The Future of Imprisonment unites some of the leading prisons and penal policy scholars of our time to address these fundamental questions. Inspired by the work of Norval Morris, the contributors look back to the past twenty-five years of penal policy in an effort to look forward to the prison''s twenty-first century future. Their essays examine the effects of current high levels of imprisonment on urb
Trade Review"Reasoned and data-driven, The Future of Imprisonment provides a bridge between the great tradition of 20th Century criminology and the sophisticated analysis of the new century. Balanced and with a clear moral vision, the collection offers sophisticated insights into the uses and misuses of the incarcerative sanction." --Martin F. Horn, Commissioner of Correction and Probation, City of New York
"I strongly recommend this collection of essays for anyone interested in corrections but particularly for correctional administrators. Its reading will lead you to critically examine many of your basic beliefs about the current policies of imprisonment. One will also come away with a greater appreciation of the influence Norval Morris has had on correctional thinking." --Morris Thigpen, Director of National Institute of Corrections
"Prisons are absorbing an ever increasing portion of our state and federal resources, yet the hoped-for results of imprisonment continue to elude our grasp. In updating the 1974 work of Norval Morris, Michael Tonry has developed some powerful themes. Prisons are necessary, but better results can, and should be, achieved with a more thoughtful and systematic approach for individual offenders through rational sentencing, continued improvement in prison life, and ultimately, a successful re-entry into the community. An impressive collection of thinkers and theories that all policy makers should consider when undertaking the important responsibility of punishing our society's law breakers." --Mike Quinlan, Former head, US Bureau of Prisons
Table of ContentsPREFACE; 1. Has the Prison a Future?; PART I: HOW MUCH IS IMPRISONMENT IS TOO MUCH?; 2. Crime, Law and the Community: Dynamics of Incarceration in New York City; 3. Restoring Rationality in Punishment Policy; PART II: GOING ON; 4. Limiting Retributivism: the Consensus Model of Criminal Punishment; 5. Sentencing Reform: The Sentencing Information System Alternative to Sentencing Guidelines; PART III: BEING THERE; 6. Democracy and the Limits of Punishment; 7. Prison Reform Amid the Ruins of Prisoners' Rights; PART IV: COMING OUT; 8. Questioning the Conventional Wisdom of Parole Release Authority; 9. The Future of Violence Risk Management
