Pros: This book contains a lot of interesting information about court cases with direct bearing on the problems inherent in a mass incarceration system--especially one that consistently operates at 200-300% over capacity. It also does a good job of centering the importance of social narratives: The ...more
useful and engaging review of relevant case law--definitely a bit dated. interesting to see how little credence abolition was getting just a decade ago (if this book had been written today i think it'd be really quite different). also some interesting points re: comparative equality law and EU commo ...more
An interesting chronology of juridical precedent as it relates to mass incarceration in California prisons. However, it is ultimately still idealist in its proposals without questioning the necessity of prisons in the first place, a disappointing analysis on what can actually be done about the destr ...more
I’m very glad I read this book. The author does an excellent job of summarizing in a very readable, understandable way what has happened in our prison system over the last 50 years (with a little touch here and there on the longer ago past). He looks at the Supreme Court Decision in Brown vs. Plata ...more
Outstanding study of Brown v. Plata that offers a superb examination of the outcomes Of our carceral state. The micro view is efficient and allows for lots of information to be spread, though I found the lack of identity politic analysis disheartening. An academic read But moving at times. this large ...more
It gives the standards by which we must confront the fate of prisoners in the California system. It is a hellish dystopia that needs desperate changes. ...more
A important work by one of our country's most esteemed experts on the failure and inhumanity of our system of incarcerating so many of our fellow human being.s ...more