criminal justice/prison issues/social concerns/reform
FRONTIERS OF JUSTICE: VOLUME II
Coddling or Common Sense?
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Frontiers of Justice: Volume II
Coddling or Common Sense?
edited by Claudia Whitman, Tekla Miller and Julie Zimmerman
Biddle Publishing Company
The United States is caught in a Tough-on-Crime Trap. In our frenzy to avoid
coddling criminals, we are shunning the very programs that would benefit society
as a whole. The authors of this anthology range from volunteers to professionals
in law, law enforcement and corrections, from crime victims to offenders. They
represent humane, successful programs in both prisons and the community, for
both juveniles and adults. Turning away from the brutality of revenge-based
criminal justice is not merely less costly and more effective in preventing
crime and lowering recidivism. It also preserves the human dignity of us
all--victim, offender, community and country. Prologue by Ramsey Clark.
ISBN: 1-879418-28-2
©1998
19.95 US
Softcover 268 Pages
To order this book...
REVIEWS
"This is a stunning collection of stories about a variety of 'at
risk' flesh and blood people who are making it back to something akin to
stability, normalcy, productivity--because someone cared enough to try to help.
It's not a Pollyana story, it's a book, chapter, and verse account of what works
and what doesn't, and why Americans should shed their skepticism and pitch
in."
Mike Wallace, CBS News/60
Minutes
FROM THE BOOK
"Our police chief refers to all residents of the Youth Center as
'predators.' He inspired the Legislature to erect a $300,000 fence around us,
promising to keep the people of this state from their own children... Every
single resident within that fence is going to get out, no matter how high they
build it or how many guards they post around it. It seems obvious that this
should be a central component of our program. Each person whom the residents
contact within the fence should be a surrogate parent, modeling behavior that we
want to see emulated in the institution as well as after release."
Ramsay Fifield, Volunteer
"I was attacked from behind, a hammer plunged through my skull. It was like
the sound of finding the pool wall with your head when swimming under water. I
fell in a slump. When I came to, everything was silent, and there were thousands
of stars in the Alabama night sky... To this day, I hate crowds, have trouble
enjoying concerts, sit with my back to the wall whenever possible, and sometimes
have seizures if I've forgotten my medicine. What I don't have anymore is the
hatred and sick stomach every time I open the pill bottle... I no longer have
anger towards my attacker. I know the role of victim, and I have gone through
the process of anger and hate and understanding. Of all of the injury I
received, it was the hate that was most damaging, and it was self-inflicted,
outwardly directed."
Pat Allen, Crime Victim
"A recurrent theme amongst those who work closely with us is that they're
surprised at how normal most of us seem. Generally speaking, society hears the
horror stories and sees the stereotypes, not the individuals who make up such
populations as this. We laugh, we cry. We fret over families and daily stresses.
We dream. For the most part, we're men who've seen the failures and repugnance
in our own lives and are working hard to reverse them. We do not forget where we
come from. It is also true that we're not allowed to forget."
Scott A. Antworth, Prisoner
"A lack of interest and participation by citizens of a community is the
death knell for any effort at improving an admittedly inadequate system.
Invariably, only those most affected by the problem are the ones who contribute
to the solution. Many an effort to produce alternative services to juveniles has
been shelved by a lack of participation. Parents of kids who manage to avoid the
pitfalls of youth and have yet to be introduced to the juvenile justice system
should thank their lucky stars; I've seen the anguish from parents of troubled
children who learn there is little help out there."
Steve Edmundson, Police Officer
"No one in their right mind would decide as a child to grow up afflicted
with recurrent intense sexually-arousing urges and fantasies about engaging in
sex with corpses, or about torturing and killing young girls. Persons such as
Jeffrey Dahmer or Michael Ross, who have been plagued with abnormal sexual
cravings, did not somehow simply decide to have them. Instead, they discovered
themselves to be so afflicted. In my professional and personal opinion, no human
being has ever deserved that."
Fred S. Berlin, M.D.
"The Circle has felt keenly a dual responsibility: to be a caring community
for Eddie in the midst of the hostility of the larger community, but also to be
a responsible community, concerned that community safety not be compromised. We
have always hoped that our presence might avert a situation developing in which
someone becomes a victim. No one can ever guarantee that Eddie will not
re-offend, but we do not find this dual responsibility to be imcompatible. Nor
do we find it a burden. Eddie has goals and a positive outlook on his life. He
is a generous, caring friend."
Harry Nigh, Mennonite Minster
"When our children do wrong, we don't hate them for the rest of their
lives. We don't place them in situations where they may be raped and battered.
We do whatever we can to get them to see what they did was wrong and deepen
their values so they become the decent human beings we know they are capable of
becoming. We must have similar faith in other people's children who do wrong,
too."
Bo Lozoff, Director, Human
Kindness Foundation
