Crime and Punishment: Inside Views / Edition 1

by Robert Johnson, Hans Toch

Overview

Robert Johnson and Hans Toch's Crime and Punishment: Inside Views is an edited volume of original essays written by offenders "in their own words." The book provides a unique, inside view of crime, prisoners, and the experience of punishment.

These essays represent the worldviews of 52 offenders, introducing the reader to the forces that shaped their lives and compelled them to commit crimes, their struggles with their own feelings, and their experiences—often rocky—with prison life and the criminal justice system.

Crime and Punishment: Inside Views is useful as a supplement for courses in criminal justice, corrections, and criminology. It illuminates a wide array of individuals, settings, and issues, offering a stimulating introduction to the study of crime and punishment. These writings will sharpen student's critical thinking skills as they compare and judge these offenders' own words against the context of their textbooks. Editors Johnson and Toch's insightful introductions and commentaries at the beginning of each section and each essay serve as a useful "road map," framing the various writings and putting them into perspective.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195329858
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/30/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	9.03(w) x 6.03(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

Section I: Doing Crime1. Astro Creep, Kent Williams2. The St. Francis Hotel, Darell Jordan3. Wasted Days, Wasted Nights, Michael Gabrish4. Perfectly Impaired, Rita Biggs5. Robbery, Travis Lewis6. Interstate Flight, Lance E. Fleming7. Better You Than Me, Michael Aquilar8. We Are All Human Beings, Michael B. Majors9. Reflections from Death Row, Michael B. Ross10. Socio-Economic Suppression and Crime, Marcus JohnsonSection II: Rehabilitation11. My Rehabilitation, Josh Wesley Elam12. A True Story, Kenny Rogers13. Freedom Within, Jennifer Howard14. After the War, James G. Fuller15. Prison, Crime, and Addiction, Gary James Boyle16. Facing Your Problem, Brandon Buckles17. No One Ever Asked Me, Why?, Gerald V. Murphy18. A View From Within, Rudolph ChurchillSection III: Finding Faith19. Prayer, Selvyn Tillett20. Paradox Shrugged, Terry Patterson21. A Life Restored, Brad Barnes22. Reflections from the Cell, Timothy J. Lippa23. Blessed in Prison, Tiberius Mays24. Mending a Broken Heart, Blanca ChavezSection IV: Being Imprisoned25. Freedom: A Magnificent Possession, Janelle Cole26. Life in a Microwave, Dianne Hamill Metzger27. Meaning of Life in Prison, Ernest Patrick28. Big Trouble in Li'l Chilli, Kim Redifer29. A Single Unheard Voice, Donald D. HairgroveSection V: Living in Prison30. Behind the Wall, Mike York31. Control, James W. Harkleroad32. Prison Is a Place, James W. Harkleroad33. A Career Statement, Joseph A. Johnson34. Michael, Christina Nankervis35. Foreigner, Selvyn Tillett36. Beethoven, Marshall Earl Fitzgerre37. A Weekend With the Inmate Plumber, Raymond E. Williams38. A Deadly Game, Antonio A. Gilbreath and Joshua D. M. Rogers, IV39. The Sixth Commandment, Michael Wayne Hunter40. The Long-Awaited Day of Freedom, Eliseo E. PadronSection VI: Justice and Injustice41. Number Twenty-Seven, Christopher L. McIntire42. The L.A. County Jail, Noah Lhotsky43. California Cesspool, Noah Lhotsky44. The Manipulation Game, Diane Hamill Metzger45. Prisoners, Poverty, and the Politics of Slavery, Ronald A. Young46. In Search of Win, Hal Elkins47. There Is No Justice in Florida, Mr. Brown48. I'm Not Guilty, But Kill Me Anyway, Michael Ross49. Adjudicated Probation, Gary Jay Walker50. Unmasking the Face of Death, Michael Ross

Editorial Reviews

Two criminology professors have allowed several dozen inmates at correctional facilities across the country to vent their feelings about their crimes and subsequent punishment. Although the inmates' writing style is mediocre, their extensive autobiographical writing may make the book appealing to readers who are curious about life on the inside or who have never read Jack Henry Abbott's In the Belly of the Beast (LJ 6/1/81). Each section is interspersed with unfortunately disappointing commentary by Johnson (American Univ.) and Toch (SUNY at Albany). They talk about the connection between poverty and crime, the racial imbalance of the inmates, and the lust for vengeance, but their observations, though valid, have been made before. This book would have been more timely had the editors focused on the trend toward longer sentences, the virtual end of the parole system, or the number of men and women on death row in this country. Recommended only for large crime collections.--Frances O. Sandiford, Green Haven Correction. Facility Lib., Stormville, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

A collection of essays by prison inmates, some incarcerated for trivial infractions and some for crimes of extreme brutality. Authors tell of their days in crime and drug dealing, life in prison, healing and rehabilitation, spiritual awakening, and justice and injustice. The editors are affiliated with American University and SUNY-Albany. Lacks a subject index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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