Criminal Justice and the Catholic Church

by Andrew Skotnicki

Overview

The Catholic Church has had a dramatic impact on both the structure and understanding of criminal justice up to the present. This book surveys the history of the church to suggest that despite demonstrable abuses, a humane and redemptive theory of criminal justice can be constructed that is harmonious with biblical sources, tradition, and current normative emphases in Catholic social thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742552036
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/27/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	174
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

Andrew Skotnicki is associate professor of Christian ethics at Manhattan College. He is the author of Religion and the Development of the American Penal System as well as numerous scholarly articles on the theological and moral foundations of criminal justice.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Introduction
Part 2 Chapter One: What is the Prison and Who is the Prisoner?
Chapter 3 The Prison
Chapter 4 Criminal Justice in the Old Testament
Chapter 5 The Image of the Prisoner and its Importance
Chapter 6 The Prisoner as Person
Chapter 7 Summary
Part 8 Chapter Two: The Justification of Punishment
Chapter 9 The Retributive Dimension of Punishment
Chapter 10 The State and the Punishment of Offenders
Chapter 11 Criminal Justice and Self-Punishment
Chapter 12 Conclusion
Part 13 Chapter Three: The End of Punishment
Chapter 14 Internal Reform
Chapter 15 Social Reintegration
Chapter 16 Conclusion
Part 17 Chapter Four: Prison as the Normative Means of Punishment
Chapter 18 Penance and the Origins of Confinement
Chapter 19 The Prison in the Catholic Tradition
Chapter 20 Conclusion
Part 21 Chapter Five: The Prison and Secular Society
Chapter 22 Secular Justice and the Church
Chapter 23 Secular Justice and Secular Prisons
Chapter 24 Catholic Effects on Secular Justice
Part 25 Chapter Six: A Catholic Theory of Criminal Justice
Chapter 26 Elements of the Theory
Chapter 27 The Catholic Church and Contemporary Corrections
Chapter 28 Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

Andrew Skotnicki... has done a great service by producing in this book a carefully articulated and historically grounded Catholic theory of criminal justice.... A careful, concise, and accessible survey.... Skotnicki writes clearly. The book is full of historical and theological insight, and—most importantly— it gives a much-needed rationale for injecting American criminal justice practices with a strong dose of humanity.... A well argued, and engagingly written book. Other fruitful questions, too, will arise for each of its (hopefully many) readers.

April 2009 Ted Grimsrud

Andrew Skotnicki provides a richly rewarding examination of our penal system that is historically and ethically informed. His overall argument is cogent and important. If you want to understand how Catholic thought and practice both have and should influence penal reform, this book is an excellent place to start.--Kenneth Himes, Boston College, past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America

Drawing richly upon historical testimony, Criminal Justice and the Catholic Church is a splendid, lucidly written assessment of the theological and ethical implications of incarceration. Skotnicki's ground-breaking retrieval of the image of Christ as prisoner offers a powerful, and all too timely corrective to prevailing retributive practices.--William R. O'Neill, Jesuit School of Theology

Rich in its history and stark in its implications, Criminal Justice and the Catholic Church illustrates the tragic distance between intent and effect in our contemporary practice and culture of incarceration.--Mary Ellen Dougherty, SSND, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

From the Publisher

Rich in its history and stark in its implications, Criminal Justice and the Catholic Church illustrates the tragic distance between intent and effect in our contemporary practice and culture of incarceration.

Mary Ellen Dougherty

Andrew Skotnicki... has done a great service by producing in this book a carefully articulated and historically grounded Catholic theory of criminal justice.... A careful, concise, and accessible survey.... Skotnicki writes clearly. The book is full of historical and theological insight, and—most importantly— it gives a much-needed rationale for injecting American criminal justice practices with a strong dose of humanity.... A well argued, and engagingly written book. Other fruitful questions, too, will arise for each of its (hopefully many) readers.

Modern Theology, April 2009 - Ted Grimsrud

Drawing richly upon historical testimony, Criminal Justice and the Catholic Church is a splendid, lucidly written assessment of the theological and ethical implications of incarceration. Skotnicki's ground-breaking retrieval of the image of Christ as prisoner offers a powerful, and all too timely corrective to prevailing retributive practices.

William R. O'Neill

By looking at the "Catholic" roots of the penal institution, Andrew Skotnicki invites us to consider how we can work toward the full social restoration of today's prisoner. There is a great deal of needed humanity, wisdom, and hope in these pages, especially at a time when those in prison live lives completely estranged from our own.

James F. Keenan

Andrew Skotnicki provides a richly rewarding examination of our penal system that is historically and ethically informed. His overall argument is cogent and important. If you want to understand how Catholic thought and practice both have and should influence penal reform, this book is an excellent place to start.

Kenneth Himes

Andrew Skotnicki... has done a great service by producing in this book a carefully articulated and historically grounded Catholic theory of criminal justice.... A careful, concise, and accessible survey.... Skotnicki writes clearly. The book is full of historical and theological insight, and—most importantly— it gives a much-needed rationale for injecting American criminal justice practices with a strong dose of humanity.... A well argued, and engagingly written book. Other fruitful questions, too, will arise for each of its (hopefully many) readers.

Ted Grimsrud