Overview

The United States incarcerates far more people than any other country in the world, at rates nearly ten times higher than other liberal democracies. Indeed, while the U.S. is home to 5 percent of the world's population, it contains nearly 25 percent of its prisoners. But the extent of American cruelty goes beyond simply locking people up. At every stage of the criminal justice process - plea bargaining, sentencing, prison conditions, rehabilitation, parole, and societal reentry - the U.S. is harsher and more punitive than other comparable countries. In Unusually Cruel, Marc Morjé Howard argues that the American criminal justice and prison systems are exceptional - in a truly shameful way. Although other scholars have focused on the internal dynamics that have produced this massive carceral system, Howard provides the first sustained comparative analysis that shows just how far the U.S. lies outside the norm of established democracies. And, by highlighting how other countries successfully apply less punitive and more productive policies, he provides plausible solutions to addressing America's criminal justice quagmire.

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9780190659332

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Reviews

Outstanding and timely. Howard presents a breathtaking account of American 'exceptionalism' in the most revealing and negative connotation of that term. --Mary Fainsod Katzenstein In the recent flurry of writing about the United States' extraordinary level of incarceration, this book stands out: it brings together the expertise of a lawyer, the analytic skills of a political scientist, and the passion of a person with a 'new calling and vocation' - all combined in one author. The result is simultaneously salutary, depressing, and encouraging. --Jennifer Hochschild Howard makes a convincing case that we have much to learn from other nations about our criminal justice system, and he provides a practical approach for recalibrating it to one that is both effective and fair. --Marc Mauer

Howard's brilliant analysis points to four enduring factors: persistent racism, evangelical religion, the politics of reelection, and profit-making from the incarcerated... Essential. --CHOICE Outstanding and timely. Howard presents a breathtaking account of American 'exceptionalism' in the most revealing and negative connotation of that term. --Mary Fainsod Katzenstein, Stephen and Evalyn Professor of American Studies, Emerita, Cornell University In the recent flurry of writing about the United States' extraordinary level of incarceration, this book stands out: it brings together the expertise of a lawyer, the analytic skills of a political scientist, and the passion of a person with a 'new calling and vocation' - all combined in one author. The result is simultaneously salutary, depressing, and encouraging. --Jennifer Hochschild, Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government, Harvard University Howard makes a convincing case that we have much to learn from other nations about our criminal justice system, and he provides a practical approach for recalibrating it to one that is both effective and fair. --Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project

an ambitious and important study that provides detailed comparative evidence of the extent and characteristics of that 'American exceptionalism.' ... Unusually Cruel meticulously brings together existing research to document comprehensively precisely how the US diverges from these ostensibly comparable countries. Robert Heynen, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books Howard's brilliant analysis points to four enduring factors: persistent racism, evangelical religion, the politics of reelection, and profit-making from the incarcerated... Essential. --CHOICE Outstanding and timely. Howard presents a breathtaking account of American 'exceptionalism' in the most revealing and negative connotation of that term. --Mary Fainsod Katzenstein, Stephen and Evalyn Professor of American Studies, Emerita, Cornell University In the recent flurry of writing about the United States' extraordinary level of incarceration, this book stands out: it brings together the expertise of a lawyer, the analytic skills of a political scientist, and the passion of a person with a 'new calling and vocation' - all combined in one author. The result is simultaneously salutary, depressing, and encouraging. --Jennifer Hochschild, Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government, Harvard University Howard makes a convincing case that we have much to learn from other nations about our criminal justice system, and he provides a practical approach for recalibrating it to one that is both effective and fair. --Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project

Howard makes a convincing case that we have much to learn from other nations about our criminal justice system, and he provides a practical approach for recalibrating it to one that is both effective and fair. * Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project * In the recent flurry of writing about the United States' extraordinary level of incarceration, this book stands out: it brings together the expertise of a lawyer, the analytic skills of a political scientist, and the passion of a person with a new calling and vocation' all combined in one author. The result is simultaneously salutary, depressing, and encouraging. * Jennifer Hochschild, Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government, Harvard University * Outstanding and timely. Howard presents a breathtaking account of American 'exceptionalism' in the most revealing and negative connotation of that term. * Mary Fainsod Katzenstein, Stephen and Evalyn Professor of American Studies, Emerita, Cornell University *

Author Information

Marc Morjé Howard is Professor of Government and Law at Georgetown University, where he also directs the Prisons and Justice Initiative. He is the author of two previous award-winning books.

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