Rethinking Punishment in the Era of Mass Incarceration / Edition 1

by Chris Surprenant

Overview

One of the most important problems faced by the United States is addressing its broken criminal justice system. This collection of essays offers a thorough examination of incarceration as a form of punishment. In addition to focusing on the philosophical aspects related to punishment, the volume’s diverse group of contributors provides additional background in criminology, economics, law, and sociology to help contextualize the philosophical issues. The first group of essays addresses whether or not our current institutions connected with punishment and incarceration are justified in a liberal society. The next set of chapters explores the negative effects of incarceration as a form of punishment, including its impact on children and families. The volume then describes how we arrived at our current situation in the United States, focusing on questions related to how we view prisons and prisoners, policing for profit, and the motivations of prosecutors in trying to secure convictions. Finally, Rethinking Punishment in the Era of Mass Incarceration examines specific policy alternatives that might offer solutions to our current approach to punishment and incarceration.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367889319
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/10/2019
Series:	Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Chris W. Surprenant is Associate Professor in Philosophy and Director of the Alexis de Tocqueville Project in Law, Liberty, and Morality at the University of New Orleans, USA. He is the author of Kant and the Cultivation of Virtue (Routledge 2014), co-editor of Kant and the Scottish Enlightenment (Routledge 2017) and Kant and Education: Interpretations and Commentary (Routledge 2011), and has written numerous articles on various aspects of Kant’s moral and political philosophy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement vii

Introduction: Why Do We Punish? Chris W. Surprenant 1

1 The Problem of Punishment John Hasnas 15

2 Unconscionable Punishment Michael Huemer 34

3 The Coproduction of Justice Nathan Goodman 49

4 The Certainty of Punishment and the Proportionality of Incarceration Chris Barker 69

5 Imprisonment and the Right to Freedom of Movement Robert C. Hughes 89

6 Are There Expressive Constraints on Incarceration? Bill Wringe 105

7 Punishment, Restitution, and Incarceration David Boonin 122

8 Communicative Theories of Punishment and the Impact of Apology Eddy Nahmias Eyal Aharoni 144

9 A Reparative Approach to Parole-Release Decisions Kristen Bell 162

10 Restorative Justice in High Schools: A Roadmap to Transforming Prisons Johanna C. Luttrell 180

11 Reforming Youth Incarceration in the United States Cara H. Drinan 194

12 Policing for "Profit": The Political Economy of Private Prisons and Asset Forfeiture Abigail R. Hall Veronica J. Mercier 209

13 Why Paternalists and Social Welfarists Should Oppose Criminal Drug Laws Andrew Cohen William Glod 225

14 The Need for Prosecutorial Guidelines John F. Pfaff 242

15 Prison Tunnel Vision Josh Dohmen 262

16 Exile as an Alternative to Incarceration Briana McGinnis 277

17 Corporal Punishment as an Alternative to Incarceration Jason Brennan 294

18 The Potentials and Limitations of De-Incarceration Daniel J. D'Amico 309

List of Contributors 329

Index 333