manter95's review against another edition
2.0
While I respect the author's view, I will have to respectfully disagree with him. I will be the first to admit my opinion is biased but with good reason. After 20 years in law enforcement and corrections, I have seen only one person I dealt with on the streets turn their life around. After conducting over 860 offender parole interviews, I came across one offender, one, who had no previous criminal history. With that, I would submit that those who will lead productive lives on the outside are in the minority of offenders.
When books such as these focus solely on the plight of the offenders, at some point the victims of the offender's crimes get lost and this author is certainly not the first to gloss over the effects on the victims and move on. The author writes about the offenders has having done, "enough" time. How does "enough "equate to the the family never getting to see their loved one again when it comes to murder?
The author makes great mention of rehabilitation programs, college, and trade vocations and how the parole board tends to gloss over them and they are a great asset for the offender. I will not disagree with the author as any type of improvement can be beneficial but that being said, programs need to be taken into context. A vast majority of offenders I came across who were on their second, third, fourth, incarceration did complete multiple vocational trades, religious programs as well as rehabilitative programs during prior incarcerations and yet, here they are once again. Not to mention, the offenders who confided in me those programs were there to "fake it tell you make it" meaning there was no real desire for for improvement but rather to accumulate certificates to show the parole board.
Are there exceptions to the above? Absolutely, the author being one of them. Sadly, I believe based on previous experience, knowledge, and training that they are the minority and not the majority of offenders.
The author makes the statement, "The victim's rights movement have greatly interfered with the rational delivery of punishment. " What a cold and callous statement. I would ask the author to read any victim impact statement or see the anguish on a mother's face as she is kneeling over her son as he has just been shot and life I'd leaving him, or the pain on a molestation victim that becomes too great and she commits suicide and the family is impacted twice yet the offender is whining because he has already spent "enough" time in prison or the all time favorite, "I've already paid for my crime" echoed by new offenders and lifers alike.
So while I disagree with the author's point of view, it is definitely a worthwhile read.
When books such as these focus solely on the plight of the offenders, at some point the victims of the offender's crimes get lost and this author is certainly not the first to gloss over the effects on the victims and move on. The author writes about the offenders has having done, "enough" time. How does "enough "equate to the the family never getting to see their loved one again when it comes to murder?
The author makes great mention of rehabilitation programs, college, and trade vocations and how the parole board tends to gloss over them and they are a great asset for the offender. I will not disagree with the author as any type of improvement can be beneficial but that being said, programs need to be taken into context. A vast majority of offenders I came across who were on their second, third, fourth, incarceration did complete multiple vocational trades, religious programs as well as rehabilitative programs during prior incarcerations and yet, here they are once again. Not to mention, the offenders who confided in me those programs were there to "fake it tell you make it" meaning there was no real desire for for improvement but rather to accumulate certificates to show the parole board.
Are there exceptions to the above? Absolutely, the author being one of them. Sadly, I believe based on previous experience, knowledge, and training that they are the minority and not the majority of offenders.
The author makes the statement, "The victim's rights movement have greatly interfered with the rational delivery of punishment. " What a cold and callous statement. I would ask the author to read any victim impact statement or see the anguish on a mother's face as she is kneeling over her son as he has just been shot and life I'd leaving him, or the pain on a molestation victim that becomes too great and she commits suicide and the family is impacted twice yet the offender is whining because he has already spent "enough" time in prison or the all time favorite, "I've already paid for my crime" echoed by new offenders and lifers alike.
So while I disagree with the author's point of view, it is definitely a worthwhile read.
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