Harsh Justice: Criminal Punishment and the Widening Divide

Harsh Justice: Criminal Punishment and the Widening Divide between America and Europe

Criminal punishment in America is harsh and degrading--more so than anywhere else in the liberal west. Executions and long prison terms are commonplace in America. Countries like France and Germany, by contrast, are systematically mild. European offenders are rarely sent to prison, and when they are, they serve far shorter terms than their American counterparts. Why is America so comparatively harsh? In this novel work of comparative legal history, James Whitman argues that the answer lies in America's triumphant embrace of a non-hierarchical social system and distrust of state power which have contributed to a law of punishment that is more willing to degrade offenders.
Country USA
Brand Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer Oxford University Press
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780195182606
Model 9780195182606
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780195182606
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Harsh Justice: Criminal Punishment and the Widening Divide between America and Europe