August 27, 2010

An American Criminologist

It's one of those things that everybody seems to know but nobody puts into words, until somebody does. Jonathan Simon, in his award winning book Governing Through Crime, observes that American ideas about criminal justice are not only out of kilter but have metastasized into almost every area of life. We've become terrified of our own shadows. The policy consequences are foolish, undemocratic, unfair and wasteful. We should be ashamed. We know better. Total runtime an hour and two minutes. Pray for small miracles.