Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/series/book-reviews/)
Lara Bazelon’s groundbreaking book “Rectify: The Power of Restorative Justice After Wrongful Conviction” is a searing indictment of the criminal justice system’s penchant for flawed practices, depraved indifference toward offenders and wanton abuses of power.
What should be the cost of a terrible mistake? On Nov. 4, 2013, two young people’s lives tragically intersected on a bus in Oakland, Calif. That afternoon, Oakland’s 57 bus carried Richard and Sasha home after school.
“Terrence was 16 when he and three other teens attempted to rob a barbeque restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida. Though they left with no money and no one was injured, Terrence was sentenced to die in prison for his involvement in that crime.” —Cara H. Drinan, “The War on Kids”
It’s about time someone wrote a book that informs readers about the unadulterated truth of how we treat kids in America. It isn’t flattering, and worse, the future doesn’t look promising despite reform movements peppered across our nation.
Jane Guttman’s “Kids in Jail: A Portrait of Life Without Mercy” gives poetic voice to children who are trapped in the catacombs of society with little hope of resurrection. It is a gut-wrenching, graceful and dignified look at lives that are painfully scarred by conditions and circumstances that were preordained out of neglect, abuse, poverty, chance or a combination of all these elements.
“Everyday Desistance: The Transition to Adulthood Among Formerly Incarcerated Youth” sheds a critical light on the winding journeys into adulthood of 25 formerly incarcerated young adults ages 18 to 24 in Los Angeles County.
Liza Jessie Peterson’s “All Day” is a moving account of her career working with young men at New York’s notorious Rikers Island. Legendary in the world of detention facilities for its violence and brutality, Rikers is scheduled to be closed within the year.
We live in a world of best practices. Some call themselves evidence-based best practices (EBP), some are simply promising practices based on evidence from somewhere, and a few are practices grounded in evidence-based research (EBR).
“Juvie Talk” is a visual diary of juvenile justice, taking the reader on a journey to meet young people across the country who share their stories with a startling and refreshing open and honest dialogue.
Jeanne Bishop, a Cook County, Illinois, public defender, starts her story of reconciliation, “Change of Heart,” on a cold winter day, her shoes crunching on the gravel of the Pontiac Correctional Center visitors' parking lot.