
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
āHeather Ann Thompson, author of the Pulitzer Prizeāwinning Blood in the Water
From the author of the classic Race to Incarcerate, a forceful and necessary argument for eliminating life sentences, including profiles of six people directly impacted by life sentences by formerly incarcerated author Kerry Myers
Most Western democracies have few or no people serving life sentences, yet here in the United States more than 200,000 people are sentenced to such prison terms.
Marc Mauer and Ashley Nellis of The Sentencing Project argue that there is no practical or moral justification for a sentence longer than twenty years. Harsher sentences have been shown to have little effect on crime rates, since people "age out" of crimeāmeaning that we're spending a fortune on geriatric care for older prisoners who pose little threat to public safety. Extreme punishment for serious crime also has an inflationary effect on sentences across the spectrum, helping to account for severe mandatory minimums and other harsh punishments.
A thoughtful and stirring call to action, The Meaning of Life also features moving profiles of a half dozen people affected by life sentences, written by former "lifer" and award-winning writer Kerry Myers. The book will tie in to a campaign spearheaded by The Sentencing Project and offers a much-needed road map to a more humane criminal justice system.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction: Lessons of āThe Birdmanā
- Life by the Numbers
- Denise Dodson
- Policies That Drive Life Sentences
- Anita Colon and Robert Holbrook
- Doing Life
- āDeath Is Differentā
- Sam Lewis
- The American Commitment to Punishment
- The Meaning of Life Around the World
- William Underwood
- The Racial Meaning of Life
- The Meaning of Life for Criminal Justice Reform
- Kelly Garrett and Justin Singleton
- The Meaning of Life for Public Safety
- Enacting a Twenty-Year Maximum Sentence
- Willis X. Harris
- The Future of Life in America
- Authorās Note
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Publishing in the Public Interest