This was a book that I happened to get for free from my student union. I mostly picked it up because, hey free book. I’ll almost never turn that down.
The book consists of three different essays, all looking at criminal justice and constitutional rights. They vary wildly in length and format, but there are several themes that they have in common. One is that a disregard for human rights is the norm in criminal justice, especially if you are poor or a person of color. And another is that lawyers get used to the harm that they perpetuate with their job.
This was an interesting look at how criminal justice working in the United States. Karakatsanis clearly knows what he is talking about, as every fact and figure (and there are a lot of them) is cited and quantified. The figures themselves are so stark that it really opens your eyes and makes you question just what is going on here. How does the US hold a quarter of the world’s incarcerated people? How on earth did that happen?
Unsurprisingly it is a very relevant read at times. There is a whole section dedicated to so called “progressive prosecutors” such as Kamala Harris (who just lost her bid for president). The book was published ten years ago, its amazing that these same names keep popping up. Just goes to show that not much has changed.
I would highly recommend this, especially to others that are
not familiar with the criminal justice system broadly. It really makes it clear
just how far we have to go in this country and fires you up to make that change
and get us there.
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