Sanaz Alasti leaves the mainstream alternatives to incarceration to examine a different, seemingly archaic approach, physical (but non-carceral) punishment—corporal punishment. This book ignites debates about the history, persistence, and use of corporal punishment in criminal justice systems. Alasti compares penological practices in in Western societies, represented by the United States, and Islamic societies, represented by Iran, to analyze which practices are more deterrent, less costly, and most humane. While Alasti does not suggest this should be the norm, she does present intriguing questions. Which is more barbaric? Is judicial corporal punishment a more humane and effective form of punishment compared to incarceration? Is corporal punishment a less cruel alternative to spending years behind bars in primitive and punitive jails and prisons? This book would be of interest to those studying criminology, criminal justice, history, law, and sociology.

The aim of this book is to assess the moral permissibility of corporal punishment and to enquire into whether or not it ought to be legally prohibited. Against the widespread view that corporal punishment is morally legitimate and should be legally permitted provided it falls short of abuse, Patrick Lenta argues that all corporal punishment, even parental spanking, is morally impermissible and ought to be legally proscribed. The advantages claimed for corporal punishment over alternative disciplinary techniques, he contends, are slight or speculative and are far outweighed by its disadvantages. He presents, in addition, a rights-based case against corporal punishment, arguing that children possess certain fundamental rights that all corporal punishment of them violates, namely the right to security of the person and the right not to be subjected to degrading punishment. Lenta’s approach is unique in that it engages with empirical literature in the social sciences in order to fully examine the emotional and psychological effects of corporal punishment on children. Corporal Punishment: A Philosophical Assessment is a philosophically rigorous and engaging treatment of a hitherto neglected topic in applied ethics and social philosophy.

Several encyclopedias overview the contemporary system of criminal justice in America, but full understanding of current social problems and contemporary strategies to deal with them can come only with clear appreciation of the historical underpinnings of those problems. Thus, this five-volume work surveys the history and philosophy of crime, punishment, and criminal justice institutions in America from colonial times to the present. It covers the whole of the criminal justice system, from crimes, law enforcement and policing, to courts, corrections and human services. Among other things, this encyclopedia: explicates philosophical foundations underpinning our system of justice; charts changing patterns in criminal activity and subsequent effects on legal responses; identifies major periods in the development of our system of criminal justice; and explores in the first four volumes - supplemented by a fifth volume containing annotated primary documents - evolving debates and conflicts on how best to address issues of crime and punishment. Its signed entries in the first four volumes--supplemented by a fifth volume containing annotated primary documents--provide the historical context for students to better understand contemporary criminological debates and the contemporary shape of the U.S. system of law and justice.

This student-friendly introductory text describes the criminal justice process—outlining the decisions, practices, people, and issues involved. It provides a solid introduction to the mechanisms of the criminal justice system, with balanced coverage of the issues presented by each facet of the process, including a thorough review of practices and controversies in law enforcement, the criminal courts, and corrections.

Part of the Prison Film Project sponsored by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation under its Rethinking Crime and Punishment initiative, this title compares fictional representations with 'actual existing reality' to provide insights into how screen images affect understanding of complex social and penal issues: 'Do viewers separate fact from fiction?'

This volume makes a contribution to the field of neurolaw by investigating issues raised by the development, use, and regulation of neurointerventions. The broad range of topics covered in these chapters reflects neurolaw's growing social import, and its rapid expansion as an academic field of inquiry. Some authors investigate the criminal justice system's use of neurointerventions to make accused defendants fit for trial, to help reform convicted offenders, or to make condemned inmates sane enough for execution, while others interrogate the use, regulation, and social impact of cognitive enhancement medications and devices. Issues raised by neurointervention-based gay conversion "therapy", efficacy and safety of specific neurointervention methods, legitimacy of their use and regulation, and their implications for authenticity, identity, and responsibility are among the other topics investigated. Dwelling on neurointerventions also highlights tacit assumptions about human nature that have important implications for jurisprudence. For all we know, at present such things as people's capacity to feel pain, their sexuality, and the dictates of their conscience, are unalterable. But neurointerventions could hypothetically turn such constants into variables. The increasing malleability of human nature means that analytic jurisprudential claims (true in virtue of meanings of jurisprudential concepts) must be distinguished from synthetic jurisprudential claims (contingent on what humans are actually like). Looking at the law through the lens of neurointerventions thus also highlights the growing need for a new distinction between analytic jurisprudence and synthetic jurisprudence to tackle issues that increasingly malleable humans will face when they encounter novel opportunities and challenges.

Challenges the established corrections paradigm and argues for replacing mass incarceration with a viable and more humane alternative. The practice of mass incarceration has come under increasing criticism by criminologists and corrections experts who, nevertheless, find themselves at a loss when it comes to offering credible, practical, and humane alternatives. In Civilization and Barbarism, Graeme R. Newman argues this impasse has arisen from a refusal to confront the original essence of punishment, namely, that in some sense it must be painful. He begins with an exposition of the traditional philosophical justifications for punishment and then provides a history of criminal punishment. He shows how, over time, the West abandoned short-term corporal punishment in favor of longer-term incarceration, justifying a massive bureaucratic prison complex as scientific and civilized. Newman compels the reader to confront the biases embedded in this model and the impossibility of defending prisons as a civilized form of punishment. A groundbreaking work that challenges the received wisdom of “corrections,” Civilization and Barbarism asks readers to reconsider moderate corporal punishment as an alternative to prison and, for the most serious offenders, forms of incapacitation without prison. The book also features two helpful appendixes: a list of debating points, with common criticisms and their rebuttals, and a chronology of civilized punishments. “Newman’s book is a monumental piece of scholarship that presents a controversial set of propositions about how punishment in the future should be administered. Readers will likely learn many new things about the history of punishment and be challenged about their current views of just punishment for wrongdoing.” — Martha J. Smith, coeditor of Theory for Practice in Situational Crime Prevention

Corrections: From Research, to Policy, to Practice offers students a 21st-century look into the treatment and rehabilitative themes that drive modern-day corrections. Written by two academic scholars and former practitioners, Mary K. Stohr and Anthony Walsh, this book provides students with a comprehensive and practical understanding of corrections, as well as coverage of often-overlooked topics like ethics, comparative corrections, offender classification and assessment, treatment modalities, and specialty courts. This text expertly weaves together research, policy, and practice, enabling students to walk away with a foundational understanding of effective punishment and treatment strategies for offenders in U.S. correctional institutions.