Every U.S. state incarcerates at least twice as many people per capita as Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and Belgium, even though these countries have comparable or higher rates of violent crime.
Today’s Crime and Punishment explores Democratic and Republican positions and perspectives on a broad array of law enforcement and criminal justice issues, including mass incarceration, sentencing disparities, anti-drug efforts, marijuana legalization, death penalty, mandatory minimums, civil asset forfeiture, prison privatization, rape and other crimes in prison settings, women in prison, support for therapeutic/educational programs, sentencing for juvenile offenders, harsher penalties for hate crimes, and voting rights for ex-felons.
The focus is on specific and timely topics in criminal justice that are most susceptible to legislative policies. Readers will benefit by developing an appreciation for how politics impacts the criminal justice system. Readers will understand how the parties have developed laws that impact their lives, dictate acceptable behavior, and legislate appropriate responses for violators. The emphasis of the series is contemporary, but it includes historical perspective to provide a sense of how parties’ positions and actions have evolved through time. Each book gives a balanced overview of the parties’ positions, both in rhetoric and practice, with all viewpoints featured.
