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Title: Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment by Marc Mauer, Meda Chesney-Lind ISBN: 1-56584-848-9 Publisher: New Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Important book for the hate-ridden nation
Comment: A well-documented collection of articles and essays about the prison nation USA and what it has done, and will do to the millions of American children, orphaned because their mom or dad, or both wanted to feel better in the hostile environment of today. The devastation of American families, proliferation of homosexuality as a result of mass incarceration, destruction of millions of lives - all these crimes of the American system of "justice" are well-documented and scholarly presented in this book. Invisible Punishment is highly recommended to those who want to understand the essence and the consequence of the world's largest, American Gulag. A great supplement to this fact-oriented book would be www.nationofhate.us - the web site that multiplies the impact of those facts with a powerful emotional impact (unrelated to the authors and publishers of the Invisible Punishment).
Rating: 5
Summary: Should be required reading for students of criminal justice
Comment: I chose this book because it is a collaborative effort of two of my favorite authors (Mauer and Chesney-Lind). Those familiar with the work of either of these two will not be disappointed. Anyone seeking a good understanding of the current operations of the criminal justice system, especially the enduring impact of incarceration on offenders, their families and the community as a whole, should definitely read this book. In fact, anyone seeking to study the criminal justice system, either as a student or a citizen, should read this book.
The topics covered in the book are too varied to adequately cover here. The overarching theme in each chapter, however, is this: Think about the consequences of current penal practices in the US. Moreover, think about all of the potential consequences, not just those readily apparent. For example, one chapter focuses on the denial of welfare benefits to persons convicted of drug offenses. For many former inmates, this means they cannot receive public assistance when released and are attempting to re-establish their lives in the free world. For some, it may mean that they cannot rejoin their families without jeopardizing their families' benefits (especially housing assistance). Regardless of your opinions on welfare and those who ought to be entitled to it, this chapter does make you question whether our national penal policies achieve their goals or do more harm than good. All of the chapters in the book take a similar approach to the topic at hand and stimulate thinking in the same manner.
The worst thing I can say about this book is that some of the chapters focusing on women, especially the one by Chesney-Lind, seem to advocate treating women differently than men. Though it is not explicitly stated in the book, some of the passages regarding women could be interpreted to advocate treating women better than men (i.e. not incarcerating women with children as frequently or for as long as men). If you are a feminist like me, who thinks equal treatment must mean equal treatment, not better treatment, you may struggle with some of what is implied here. That, however, should not deter you from reading it. In fact, it may inspire some much-needed thought and dialogue in this area.
Overall, I recommend this book without reservation. Instructors looking for material for corrections courses this fall should definitely consider this piece. An individual student may not find all of it relevant, but the individual chapters can stand alone to provide a different perspective on many corrections topics. Students studying corrections should also keep this book in mind, both for academic enrichment and for reference on specific topics.
Rating: 5
Summary: The end of liberalism
Comment: This book is based on the idea that the level of policing which has brought an overall decrease in major crimes in American society is far too draconian to be considered effective. I am liberal enough to think that the worst aspect of law is the role that the government has assumed in attempting to set limits on the pleasure-seeking nature of American society, making itself the ultimate confiner of anyone who dares to commit petty offenses, particularly people who are self-treating themselves with drugs ("marijuana, felony possession of, collateral consequences, 5," is an entry in the index of this book) which are now available in the form of a chemical equivalent with a prescription from a physician. The social context of such draconian measures are the subject of INVISIBLE PUNISHMENT/ THE COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES OF MASS IMPRISONMENT, edited by Marc Mauer and Meda Chesney-Lind.
My favorite chapter is by Meda Chesney-Lind, "Imprisoning Women: The Unintended Victims of Mass Imprisonment." As an enormous portion of American society which generally can be considered non-threatening to anyone who is not afraid of being called a heterosexist male chauvinist pig, women have typically conformed to whatever behavior has been most socially acceptable, and the crimes mentioned most often in this book ought to be considered more pathetic than anything else. The factors (I'll stop listing these when I get to the word "random") which seem out of place in any society which would consider itself liberal include the following:
"get tough" sentencing policies (p. 79)
"vengeful equity" (p. 80)
the number of women incarcerated in prisons and jails in the United States is now about ten times greater than the number of women incarcerated in all of Western Europe. (p. 81)
far higher rates of physical and sexual abuse (p. 83)
the criminalization of girls' survival strategies, such as running away from home (p. 84)
working in retail may actually increase their involvement in certain property crimes, much like women's employment in bar and entertainment outlets often increases women's likelihood of getting involved in prostitution and drug abuse. (p. 85)
because they made so little money, 20 percent of the active women dealers reported twenty or more drug deals per day. (pp. 85-86)
women's deteriorating economic conditions (p. 86)
increased penalties (mandatory sentences) for drug offenses (p. 88)
Many women are being returned to prison not for new offenses but for technical parole violations because they fail to pass random drug tests. (p. 90)
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Title: Race to Incarcerate by Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project ISBN: 1565846834 Publisher: New Press Pub. Date: May, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry (Studies in Crime and Public Policy) by Joan Petersilia ISBN: 019516086X Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Prison Nation: The Warehousing of America's Poor by Tara Herivel, Paul Wright ISBN: 0415935385 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Crime and Punishment in America by Elliott Currie ISBN: 0805060162 Publisher: Owl Books Pub. Date: 15 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Prisons: Crime and Justice by Michael Tonry, Joan Petersilia ISBN: 0226808505 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: August, 2000 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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