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Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States
A groundbreaking investigation into the roots of the American criminal justice system reveals how the past bleeds into the present.
Beyond These Walls is an ambitious and far-ranging exploration that tracks the legacy of crime and imprisonment in the United States, from the historical roots of the American criminal justice system to our modern state of over-incarceration, and offers a bold vision for a new future. Author Tony Platt, a recognized authority in the field of criminal justice, challenges the way we think about how and why millions of people are tracked, arrested, incarcerated, catalogued, and regulated in the United States.
Beyond These Walls traces the disturbing history of punishment and social control, revealing how the criminal justice system attempts to enforce and justify inequalities associated with class, race, gender, and sexuality. Prisons and police departments are central to this process, but other institutions – from immigration and welfare to educational and public health agencies – are equally complicit.
Platt argues that international and national politics shape perceptions of danger and determine the policies of local criminal justice agencies, while private policing and global corporations are deeply and undemocratically involved in the business of homeland security.
Finally, Beyond These Walls demonstrates why efforts to reform criminal justice agencies have often expanded rather than contracted the net of social control. Drawing upon a long tradition of popular resistance, Platt concludes with a strategic vision of what it will take to achieve justice for all in this era of authoritarian disorder.
Beyond These Walls is an ambitious and far-ranging exploration that tracks the legacy of crime and imprisonment in the United States, from the historical roots of the American criminal justice system to our modern state of over-incarceration, and offers a bold vision for a new future. Author Tony Platt, a recognized authority in the field of criminal justice, challenges the way we think about how and why millions of people are tracked, arrested, incarcerated, catalogued, and regulated in the United States.
Beyond These Walls traces the disturbing history of punishment and social control, revealing how the criminal justice system attempts to enforce and justify inequalities associated with class, race, gender, and sexuality. Prisons and police departments are central to this process, but other institutions – from immigration and welfare to educational and public health agencies – are equally complicit.
Platt argues that international and national politics shape perceptions of danger and determine the policies of local criminal justice agencies, while private policing and global corporations are deeply and undemocratically involved in the business of homeland security.
Finally, Beyond These Walls demonstrates why efforts to reform criminal justice agencies have often expanded rather than contracted the net of social control. Drawing upon a long tradition of popular resistance, Platt concludes with a strategic vision of what it will take to achieve justice for all in this era of authoritarian disorder.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 8, 2019
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671 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 4, 2019
When the media talks about a rise in crime, prison overcrowding, and repeat offenders, most people automatically think of murderers, rapists, and other violent offenders. In fact, violent crime has been in a sharp decline for years. Rarely does mainstream media clarify that these crimes are relatively minor in the scheme of things, that they are largely social crimes like drug use, and the prisons have a revolving door because we've designed prisons - and society - to function that way.
With 'Beyond These Walls', Tony Platt takes us deep into the criminal justice system, showing us the complexities and many facets of a system gone horribly wrong. Platt doesn't just talk about what's broken, he shows us exactly how it got that way. This is a vital aspect because before we can begin to correct the mistakes, we first have to identify them.
The content encompasses a broad range of information, yet it's not weighed down with statistics and textbook-style lingo. The writing style is more conversational than scholarly.
This book should be required reading in every social science and criminal justice program. Ideally, I'd like everyone to read it. Until we start making loud enough demands for change, the system is only destined to get worse.
*I received an advance ebook copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.*
With 'Beyond These Walls', Tony Platt takes us deep into the criminal justice system, showing us the complexities and many facets of a system gone horribly wrong. Platt doesn't just talk about what's broken, he shows us exactly how it got that way. This is a vital aspect because before we can begin to correct the mistakes, we first have to identify them.
The content encompasses a broad range of information, yet it's not weighed down with statistics and textbook-style lingo. The writing style is more conversational than scholarly.
This book should be required reading in every social science and criminal justice program. Ideally, I'd like everyone to read it. Until we start making loud enough demands for change, the system is only destined to get worse.
*I received an advance ebook copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.*
November 16, 2018
This book was an eye opener and life changing. It dives deep into the history of punishment and social control. It explores the criminal justice system and goes into the inequalities that certain genders and races suffer. Brilliant book, absolutely enjoyed reading it and will highly recommend.
March 30, 2019
Eye opener about what prisons really are and how our system of punishment is more about punishing non white people.
October 16, 2021
I requested this book through my local library as a zip book...if you have a book you want to read that they don't have, you can suggest they buy it. It gets shipped directly to you, and you have 3 months to read it. Then you turn it in to the library, and they add it to their collection.
There is a lot of historical information in this book, and in fact it sometimes feels like it takes forever to read a couple of pages. It's quite a bit like a textbook. The book is really only 255 pages. The remaining 117 pages are resources, an appendix, notes, references, and an index. I will say I found some other books that I want to read while reading this one. I just expected to have more modern info and maybe some of his suggestions on what we can do to move beyond those walls he spent so much time building up...I didn't get much of that at all, which is a big part of why I wanted to read this book.
So this one is good for historical information, some mind-blowing and heartbreaking stats, and resources for more reading but not so much for ideas on what to do about our seriously messed up judicial system.
There is a lot of historical information in this book, and in fact it sometimes feels like it takes forever to read a couple of pages. It's quite a bit like a textbook. The book is really only 255 pages. The remaining 117 pages are resources, an appendix, notes, references, and an index. I will say I found some other books that I want to read while reading this one. I just expected to have more modern info and maybe some of his suggestions on what we can do to move beyond those walls he spent so much time building up...I didn't get much of that at all, which is a big part of why I wanted to read this book.
So this one is good for historical information, some mind-blowing and heartbreaking stats, and resources for more reading but not so much for ideas on what to do about our seriously messed up judicial system.
February 10, 2019
This is not an easy read, but it is a very important one. With my current job being a grant specialist for a state organization that assists indigent defense systems, but not having a lot of experience in the arena itself, I thought this would be good to pick up. Boy. I learned so much over the course of this. Where the podcast Serial took its latest season through the justice system, I feel like this goes even deeper, looking at the roots of the justice system and how we got to where we are today. During one episode of Serial’s latest season, Sarah Koenig says, “[In the criminal justice system,] It never hurts to be white; it never helps to be black.” This book demonstrates how that is the understatement of the century. POC, Native Americans, and other minorities don’t just have the deck stacked against them in this system; they can almost never win playing by the rules; the system is constantly turning the tables; to put it simply, it’s not much of a justice system.
Platt demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt that in fact it is not minorities who are the most prone to criminal behavior, rather, they are the most vulnerable in the system, given little, usually no, opportunity to navigate it. Public defenders are too often overworked and unable to give defendants the means to a fair trial. Speedy, absolutely. But fair? Not very often.
Few presidents, Obama included, have done much to reform the criminal justice system, and the current administration has made things even worse. I would love to see a 2020 candidate bring these issues to the forefront, but I’m not holding my breath. Nonetheless, we should hold our congresspeople responsible for making the necessary changes.
I will definitely be reading this again. It’s a lot to take in, and I’m sure I missed some things along the way. I hope we can all become more aware of the problems in our system and work together to make it better.
Platt demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt that in fact it is not minorities who are the most prone to criminal behavior, rather, they are the most vulnerable in the system, given little, usually no, opportunity to navigate it. Public defenders are too often overworked and unable to give defendants the means to a fair trial. Speedy, absolutely. But fair? Not very often.
Few presidents, Obama included, have done much to reform the criminal justice system, and the current administration has made things even worse. I would love to see a 2020 candidate bring these issues to the forefront, but I’m not holding my breath. Nonetheless, we should hold our congresspeople responsible for making the necessary changes.
I will definitely be reading this again. It’s a lot to take in, and I’m sure I missed some things along the way. I hope we can all become more aware of the problems in our system and work together to make it better.
December 31, 2021
Do not forget the gun manufacturers, prison builders, and surveillance system engineers who serve and profit from public agencies, and the knowledgeable professionals who articulate the logic of punishment.
In 1950 a staff of twenty-three thousand guarded all U.S. jails and prisons. Today more than seven hundred thousand are needed to do the job.
One in every twenty-eight children now has an incarcerated parent whose family is billed as much as $25 for a fifteen minute in state phone call.
An estimated six million people are barred from voting because they have a record of felony convictions.
How is it possible to address mass imprisonment without tackling racial inequality?
As a result of about forty years of law and order policies, whenever the subjects of criminal justice, welfare institutions, and deportation orders are imagined publicly, the mostly black and brown images conjured up suggest beings who are broken, damaged, and semi human, dangerous and unpredictable, better caged than free.
We live in a world of walls, walls that divide us walls that constrain our idealism, walls that partition our ideals, and walls that cut us off from the past...sweet freedom still faintly calls.
In 1950 a staff of twenty-three thousand guarded all U.S. jails and prisons. Today more than seven hundred thousand are needed to do the job.
One in every twenty-eight children now has an incarcerated parent whose family is billed as much as $25 for a fifteen minute in state phone call.
An estimated six million people are barred from voting because they have a record of felony convictions.
How is it possible to address mass imprisonment without tackling racial inequality?
As a result of about forty years of law and order policies, whenever the subjects of criminal justice, welfare institutions, and deportation orders are imagined publicly, the mostly black and brown images conjured up suggest beings who are broken, damaged, and semi human, dangerous and unpredictable, better caged than free.
We live in a world of walls, walls that divide us walls that constrain our idealism, walls that partition our ideals, and walls that cut us off from the past...sweet freedom still faintly calls.
November 18, 2018
THANK YOU For finally writing a book that encompasses the social issues that causes crime. Further, I LOVED the integration of ALL Minorities, not just Blacks and Latins.
As a former probation officer I was able to identify and relate to most of what the author was talking about. I can appreciate the lengths of the "state" to subjugate and keep down lower classes of people.
I have been waiting for a book like this since my days as an undergraduate in Criminal Justice.
This book should be required reading for all people going into the social sciences.
As a former probation officer I was able to identify and relate to most of what the author was talking about. I can appreciate the lengths of the "state" to subjugate and keep down lower classes of people.
I have been waiting for a book like this since my days as an undergraduate in Criminal Justice.
This book should be required reading for all people going into the social sciences.
June 24, 2020
I'm surprised this book doesn't have more reviews. While it can get nitty-gritty with numbers that can appear at times dull, this book is an excellent overview of the history of crime and punishment in the United States. It has great sources and, aside from a few typos (Trump was elected in 2016, not 2017 as it claimed at one point), overall it offers a thorough narrative with facts to back up assertions. No, it's not an easy, fun read, but I would think, with the discussions of defunding the police increasing by the day, more people would be interesting in the read. I would recommend. Was torn between 3 or 4 stars but ended up giving it 3 because I'm picky and, as 3 stars represents, I liked it.
February 9, 2025
This book has profoundly changed my perception of the carceral state. It not only challenges the classic American view on what justice is or more accurately what it isn’t, but it provides an immense amount of facts and sources to back it up. It has never been solely about public safety and rarely about reforming individuals but plays a large part in controlling groups of people deemed problematic due to their race, gender, ethnicity, economic status, etc… People have been forced to endure miserable atrocities not for safety but backwards ideology or even worse political gain. This book dives into a subject that most Americans would like to ignore or oversimplify. We can only overcome an issue if we are willing to look at it first and so many are too scared or indifferent to open their eyes.
June 28, 2019
It is truly amazing how one thing leads to another! Maybe this is universal law. Immediately after finishing Grandin, I was in need of a library run. I picked up a book off the new non-fiction shelf titled Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime & Punishment in the United States by Tony Platt. Platt is not as graceful with words as Greg Grandin but he does cover much of the same territory and with similar sympathies but from a different perspective. If Grandin has whet your appetite for more, I emphatically recommend Platt.
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December 1, 2019
While this book contained a lot of interesting information it was a massive info dump that just hopped between facts with no transitions. He jumps back and forth between the present and past with no real warning. I think if you are talking about rethinking current justice systems in the US you should probably focus more on the present and use past events to support not just haphazardly listing issues.
Could have been a strong book if it had had a driving case or direction.
Could have been a strong book if it had had a driving case or direction.
December 3, 2021
The political disposition of racial bias in the prison system goes unproven. This book talks about the racial disparities in federal and private prisons as proof of systematic racism. The argument is unconvincing.
April 9, 2019
Fine. Little dull but informative
April 20, 2019
Informative and thorough without being preachy. Would recommend this for people living and voting in the US.
Went to see the author give a talk, very personable.
Went to see the author give a talk, very personable.
August 15, 2019
Good historical information, not so great modern critique.
March 29, 2020
This book = amazing. Really shows the nuances and complexities of criminal justice institutions while calling out the inequalities. As someone studying what Platt wrote about, this was everything.
September 25, 2025
For my Soc class. Great book, opened my eyes to even more injustice in the U.S!
June 9, 2019
Deeply historical in scope and research. Mr. Platt weaves us a version of how we got here in our criminal justice ideas of our current time. He shows us that our ideas of what is ok and acceptable is ever changing and has more to do with culture than fact based research. This is a wonderful book that should be read by all whose lives have been effectes by the criminal justice system of the U.S. and should be read studiously by those whose lives haven't been affected by the criminal justice system.
December 30, 2018
While everyone seems to have strong opinions about our criminal justice system - and what is wrong with it- very few people are actually educated in how complex a problem it actually is. Platt lays out a fantastic narrative showcasing not only the current state of our penal system, but equally importantly HOW it got to be that way.
I hope this book will find its way into schools, and not just forensic programs. Everyone in a society is at risk of falling victim, they should all understand what is really broken.
Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject.
I hope this book will find its way into schools, and not just forensic programs. Everyone in a society is at risk of falling victim, they should all understand what is really broken.
Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews