About the Instructor
Things to think about: Construct a criminal justice system that would maintain and encourage a stable and visible class of criminals (ie, what would be some of its charactistics and how would we do it?) (examples: would would courts be like; what would punishments be like? What kinds of crimes would be punished?) PYRRHIC DEFEAT THEORY (p 5): System is designed to fail, but that failure of the criminal justice system yields such benefits to those in positions of power that it amounts to success. Key is that crime and responses to it are designed to make it appear that serious crime, and thus the real danger to society, is the work of the poor (p. 5). P 60 ff: Offers five hypotheses: 1. The definitions of crime in the criminal law do not refelct the only or the most dangerous of antisocial behavior 2. The decisions on whom to arrest or charge do not reflect the only or the most dangerous behaviors legally defined as "criminal" 3. Criminal convictions do not refloect the only or the most dangerous individual samong those arrested and charged 4. Sentencing decisions do not reflect the goal of protecting society fromthe only or the most dangerous of those convicted by meting out punishments proportionate to the harmfulness of the crime committed 5. What crimminal justice policy decisions do is reflect the implicit identification of crime with the dangerous acts to the poor. Borrowing from Durkheim (DoL) and Erikson (Wayward Puritans), he argues that crime "pays" (ie, is functional) for society. What does this mean? He argues (like, eg, Rawls) that injustice transforms a legal system into its opposite (180). What's needed is emphasis on rehabiliting the criminal justice system, not offenders. Would these proposals work? Would they require more discretion, or can systemic challenges be worked out for an integrated policy? 1) Put an end to crime-producing poverty 2) Let the crime fit the harm and the punishment fit the crime 3) Legalize the sale and production of "illict" drugs and treat addiction as a medical problem 4) Promote correctinal programs that promote rather than undermine personal responsibility, and we must offer ex-offenders real preparation and real opportunity to succeed as law-abiding citizens. 5) We must enact and vigorously enforce stringent gun control laws 6) We must narrow the range in which police officers, prosecutors, and judges exercise discretion, and we must develop procedures to hold them accountable to the public for the fairness and reasonableness of their decisions. 7) We must transform the equal right to counsel into the right to equal counsel as far as it is feasible 8) We must establish a more just distribution of wealth and income and make equal opportunity a reality for all Americans
About the Instructor
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