The U.S. crime rate has dropped steadily for more than a decade, yet the rate of incarceration continues to skyrocket. Today, more than 2 million Americans are locked in prisons and jails with devastating consequences for poor families and communities, overcrowded institutions and overburdened taxpayers. How did the U.S. become the world's leader ......
How is it possible for an innocent man to come within nine days of execution? This title answers that question through an analysis of the case of Earl Washington Jr, a mentally retarded, black farm hand who was convicted of the 1983 rape and murder of a 19-year-old mother of three in Culpeper, Virginia.
Exploring such issues as gun-tracing initiatives, the extension of the Brady Bill, gun-oriented policing, federal law enforcement initiatives such as Project Exile, and civil litigation against gun manufacturers, this work embarks upon a balanced and nuanced discussion about firearms.
Critical Issues in Restorative Justice brings together key international writings that trace the development of restorative justice from its diverse beginnings to current global policies and practices. The collection is constructed around the following themes: the theoretical origins of restorative justice; the key principles and substantive ......
This text reflects recent changes in the training of probation and social workers. It addresses issues of knowledge, skills and practice as well as contemporary social issues. It also appraises policies and professional requirements critically. The book is divided into three sections: issues which inform practice - training skills and competencies, anti-discriminatory practice, autonomy and accountability, masculinity and the causes of crime; the contexts in which working with offenders takes place - probation boards; pre-sentence reports, community penalties, prison and the community; the outcomes of good practice - partnerships against crime and effectiveness and evaluation of crime prevention.
The Criminal Justice System and the Case of Alvin Ford
Based on the case of Alvin Ford, an American death row inmate, this thought-provoking book focuses on the issues raised when the criminal justice system attempts to apply the death penalty to the mentally impaired. Issues addressed include: the definition of mental illness for the purposes of exemption from execution; the evaluation of competence for execution by mental health professionals; the consequences of disagreements among health professionals about a defendant's mental status; and the fate of prisoners who are exempted. Ford's unique case leads the authors to examine more general issues such as the involvement of health professionals in modern capital sentencing, as well as the administration of the death penalty in the United States today.
Years of working in the area of penal abolition have developed Ruth Morris's thinking on justice issues. In 'Stories of Transformative Justice', she outlines why the current adversarial system of justice fails victims, offenders, their families, and ultimately society in general. Citing stories from Canada, the United States, New Zealand, ......
Eva Evelyn Hanks is a writer who also happens to be married to a bank robber. She has not had a book published before but events in her life have forced her writing into an area hardly any of us really understands - what it is like to be in prison or to love someone in prison. 'Eva' has faced much hardship in her own life, but managed to overcome ......
