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Justice as fairness: Perpectives on the justice model
JournolojCriminal Jusrrce. Vol. 10. pp. Pergamon Press. Printed in U.S.A.
0047~2352/82/010073-1 Copyright 0 1982 Pergamon
73-83 (1982)
lf3.00/0 Press Ltd.
BOOK REVIEWS Justice Justice
As Fairness: Model edited
Perspectives
on the
justice and the Bronstein piece on “Offender Rights Litigation.” As individual works with narrow and practical topics, most of the essays are cogent, scholarly, and adequately supported. However, these essays primarily urge practical application of a model that does not have a solid philosophical foundation; it is in this role of supporting the grander scheme of the justice model that they are disappointing. The gem of the volume is the work by Patrick McAnany; it is the volume’s most critical essay in two senses. It is critical to the volume because it is the only essay in the entire work that attempts to grapple with the philosophical presumptions which underlie the justice model. McAnany identifies the basic shortcoming of any scheme that cries for equitable treatment of subjects (more often than not referred to as “structuring discretion”): equity is not necessarily the same thing as justice, and no one speaks to what constitutes justice. This pervasive and fundamental problem is compounded with philosophical duality when the justice model is applied to the juvenile justice system, and the reader is not .offered any convincing rationale for why this section was even deemed appropriate for inclusion. Without any apparent intention the McAnany essay then is implicitly critical of every other essay in the book, each of which is concerned with procedure, something McAnany labels “a false tool of fairness.” He points out that standards, procedures, and structure are a comfort to the conscience, but they are only a stopgap measure. At some point, goals not procedures, ends not means, must be addressed forthrightly. Unless there is a presumption that a more exact replication of the external
by David Fogel and
Joe Hudson. Anderson Publishing Company (Criminal Justice Division, 646 Main Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45201), 1981, 297 pp., $14.95softcover. This collection of twelve essays is intended as a companion volume to and an elaboration of the justice perspective offered by David Fogel in We Are the Living Proof-The
Justice
Model for Corrections.
For the most part the essays do reflect a presumption that the reader has some familiarity with the basic tenets of the justice model. A reader unfamiliar with the justice perspective-a student or a practitioner, for example-would probably not appreciate the link between the essays and the oftreferred-to model, nor would they understand why all twelve essays were selected to compose the whole. The relevance of each essay to the justice model is not always explicitly stated, and it is left to the reader to fit the pieces together into a whole. The book consists of five sections: an introductory overview, a section on sentencing, ‘one on juvenile justice, another on prison operations and management, and a final one on the enforcement of fairness in corrections. While it is difficult to make comments that apply generally to the end product of fourteen contributors, it can be said that, with only one or two exceptions, each essay in the volume provides an overview, summary, or discussion of the selected topic that is worthwhile reading. Two that provide exceptionally fine reviews of the issues are the Shireman essay on juvenile 73
74
BOOK
world (with the attendant inherent social injustices, of course) through normalizing the prison work environment, instituting more accessible grievance mechanisms and more meaningful participation in management within the corrections wing of the criminal justice system is an improvement in criminal justice, then the justice model falls short of addressing the question of what is just. If, in fact, the justice model does rest on such a presumption, then it is certainly a sitting duck for challenges from several philosophical positions. After all, justice does not universally imply improving the convict’s lot, nor is the current state of social justice universally viewed as superior to the current state of criminal justice. This work does not have obvious classroom practicability, as it assumes too much prior knowledge and information, and then adds too little to that base, a common problem of position statements. However, for the more advanced “student,” including teachers, corrections practitioners, or anyone interested in criminal justice system reforms, this book does offer a breadth of topics that is thought provoking and stimulating.
Ellen Hochstedler Faculty of Criminal Justice The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
Condemned to Die: Life under Sentence Death by Robert Johnson.
of
Elsevier-North Holland (52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, New York 10017), 1981, 190 pp., paper, $13.50. Rarely has this reviewer been so thoroughly engrossed by a description and analysis of a criminal justice issue. The book, easily readable and comprehensible by undergraduate and seasoned scholar alike, simply can’t be put down. A versatile work, Condemned to Die could be used to
REVIEWS
serve several functions for criminal justice educators. Condemned to Die has four major sections and draws upon some seventy-nine references. It is organized around Part I. “The Death Sentence and the Conof demned”, Part II, “The Experience Death Row Confinement.” Part III, “Reform ,” and an appendix (“Autopsies of Stress and Suffering on Death Row”). The material in the text is Robert Johnson’s interpretation of the cited literature and open-ended interviews he conducted with thirty-five of the thirty-seven men on Alabama’s death row in September 1978. The appendix presents two of those interviews in detail so that “the reader may come to appreciate the richness of the open-ended interviews used in this research” (p. 148). That concern for the quality and verifiability of analysis characterizes the book. Quotations from the interviews are liberally used throughout to illustrate the interpretations of the author. These questions provide an intimate, almost first-hand, experience with the subjects. The technique, therefore, epitomizes the case study approach to scholarly inquiry. The graphic eloquence with which the quotations are interwoven with the author’s interpretations is likely to hold the undergraduate spellbound and tantalize the scholar with the work’s pregnant and robust theoretical implications. Part I includes two chapters, Chapter 1, “Man Against Himself: Studying the Human Dimensions of Capital Punishment” and Chapter 2, “Pathways to Death Row.” Chapter 1 presents the background to the study and includes a typology of personal reactions to the stress of death row, thereby preparing the reader for the material to follow. Chapter 2 presents a theoretical explanation of causes of violent criminal behavior. Here. several critical variables are identified as causally related to violent criminality, which is examined as “an adaptation to bleak and often brutal lives” (p. 26)-an adaptation of limited “maturity” and diminished “sanity” or mental health. The social origins of violence are also considered within the context of the broader
0047~2352/82/010073-1 Copyright 0 1982 Pergamon
73-83 (1982)
lf3.00/0 Press Ltd.
BOOK REVIEWS Justice Justice
As Fairness: Model edited
Perspectives
on the
justice and the Bronstein piece on “Offender Rights Litigation.” As individual works with narrow and practical topics, most of the essays are cogent, scholarly, and adequately supported. However, these essays primarily urge practical application of a model that does not have a solid philosophical foundation; it is in this role of supporting the grander scheme of the justice model that they are disappointing. The gem of the volume is the work by Patrick McAnany; it is the volume’s most critical essay in two senses. It is critical to the volume because it is the only essay in the entire work that attempts to grapple with the philosophical presumptions which underlie the justice model. McAnany identifies the basic shortcoming of any scheme that cries for equitable treatment of subjects (more often than not referred to as “structuring discretion”): equity is not necessarily the same thing as justice, and no one speaks to what constitutes justice. This pervasive and fundamental problem is compounded with philosophical duality when the justice model is applied to the juvenile justice system, and the reader is not .offered any convincing rationale for why this section was even deemed appropriate for inclusion. Without any apparent intention the McAnany essay then is implicitly critical of every other essay in the book, each of which is concerned with procedure, something McAnany labels “a false tool of fairness.” He points out that standards, procedures, and structure are a comfort to the conscience, but they are only a stopgap measure. At some point, goals not procedures, ends not means, must be addressed forthrightly. Unless there is a presumption that a more exact replication of the external
by David Fogel and
Joe Hudson. Anderson Publishing Company (Criminal Justice Division, 646 Main Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45201), 1981, 297 pp., $14.95softcover. This collection of twelve essays is intended as a companion volume to and an elaboration of the justice perspective offered by David Fogel in We Are the Living Proof-The
Justice
Model for Corrections.
For the most part the essays do reflect a presumption that the reader has some familiarity with the basic tenets of the justice model. A reader unfamiliar with the justice perspective-a student or a practitioner, for example-would probably not appreciate the link between the essays and the oftreferred-to model, nor would they understand why all twelve essays were selected to compose the whole. The relevance of each essay to the justice model is not always explicitly stated, and it is left to the reader to fit the pieces together into a whole. The book consists of five sections: an introductory overview, a section on sentencing, ‘one on juvenile justice, another on prison operations and management, and a final one on the enforcement of fairness in corrections. While it is difficult to make comments that apply generally to the end product of fourteen contributors, it can be said that, with only one or two exceptions, each essay in the volume provides an overview, summary, or discussion of the selected topic that is worthwhile reading. Two that provide exceptionally fine reviews of the issues are the Shireman essay on juvenile 73
74
BOOK
world (with the attendant inherent social injustices, of course) through normalizing the prison work environment, instituting more accessible grievance mechanisms and more meaningful participation in management within the corrections wing of the criminal justice system is an improvement in criminal justice, then the justice model falls short of addressing the question of what is just. If, in fact, the justice model does rest on such a presumption, then it is certainly a sitting duck for challenges from several philosophical positions. After all, justice does not universally imply improving the convict’s lot, nor is the current state of social justice universally viewed as superior to the current state of criminal justice. This work does not have obvious classroom practicability, as it assumes too much prior knowledge and information, and then adds too little to that base, a common problem of position statements. However, for the more advanced “student,” including teachers, corrections practitioners, or anyone interested in criminal justice system reforms, this book does offer a breadth of topics that is thought provoking and stimulating.
Ellen Hochstedler Faculty of Criminal Justice The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
Condemned to Die: Life under Sentence Death by Robert Johnson.
of
Elsevier-North Holland (52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, New York 10017), 1981, 190 pp., paper, $13.50. Rarely has this reviewer been so thoroughly engrossed by a description and analysis of a criminal justice issue. The book, easily readable and comprehensible by undergraduate and seasoned scholar alike, simply can’t be put down. A versatile work, Condemned to Die could be used to
REVIEWS
serve several functions for criminal justice educators. Condemned to Die has four major sections and draws upon some seventy-nine references. It is organized around Part I. “The Death Sentence and the Conof demned”, Part II, “The Experience Death Row Confinement.” Part III, “Reform ,” and an appendix (“Autopsies of Stress and Suffering on Death Row”). The material in the text is Robert Johnson’s interpretation of the cited literature and open-ended interviews he conducted with thirty-five of the thirty-seven men on Alabama’s death row in September 1978. The appendix presents two of those interviews in detail so that “the reader may come to appreciate the richness of the open-ended interviews used in this research” (p. 148). That concern for the quality and verifiability of analysis characterizes the book. Quotations from the interviews are liberally used throughout to illustrate the interpretations of the author. These questions provide an intimate, almost first-hand, experience with the subjects. The technique, therefore, epitomizes the case study approach to scholarly inquiry. The graphic eloquence with which the quotations are interwoven with the author’s interpretations is likely to hold the undergraduate spellbound and tantalize the scholar with the work’s pregnant and robust theoretical implications. Part I includes two chapters, Chapter 1, “Man Against Himself: Studying the Human Dimensions of Capital Punishment” and Chapter 2, “Pathways to Death Row.” Chapter 1 presents the background to the study and includes a typology of personal reactions to the stress of death row, thereby preparing the reader for the material to follow. Chapter 2 presents a theoretical explanation of causes of violent criminal behavior. Here. several critical variables are identified as causally related to violent criminality, which is examined as “an adaptation to bleak and often brutal lives” (p. 26)-an adaptation of limited “maturity” and diminished “sanity” or mental health. The social origins of violence are also considered within the context of the broader