Review by Choice Review
The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Recent actions of police officers across the country and an ongoing stream of exonerations of those committed to prison or, worse, condemned to death, point to a broken system of justice. Benforado (law, Drexel Univ.) seeks a way out of the seemingly intractable problems of the US criminal justice system. His solution is in his book's title: it is science. The author's treatise covers each element of the criminal justice system--police, courts, corrections--and applies what science says is occurring at each stage, particularly the sciences of the mind: psychology and the neurosciences. What is revealed is in turn disturbing and confounding: race shapes decision making, and people lie and cheat (but not always as expected) for the greatest return. Benforado contends in his comprehensive conclusion that the country is not without hope. The hope resides in science and technology. His most controversial proposal is the "virtual trial," in which avatars replace participants. This could, according to Benforado, "reduce our dependence on fallible human faculties." Especially for those engaged in critical policy analysis. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Susan Elaine Blankenship, Lake Erie College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Audiobook veteran Barrett brings his raspy voice and knack for accentuating emotional nuance in his delivery to the new title from legal scholar Benforado. The book uncovers a wide range of scientific findings that reveal rampant bias in the United States justice system, particularly emphasizing how processes and systems tied to a punitive punishment approach make the streets less-rather than more-safe from crime. Benforado minces no words in his harsh view of the predominant American perspectives-compared with other Western industrialized democracies-regarding such matters as the police, courts, and prisons; Barrett's animated narration stays consistent with the tenor of this hard-hitting message. Barrett provides an especially effective whimsical and sardonic tone in rendering Benforado's historical overview of the retribution model of law and order, highlighting such baffling primitive practices as murder trials for animals, something that is compared to the nation's recent track record of jailing the mentally ill and addicted populations instead of providing access to medical treatment. A Crown hardcover. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Listeners should be prepared to be shocked, appalled, disgusted, enlightened, informed, and, most important, called to action to make change in the U.S. criminal justice system. Benforado (law, Drexel Univ.) provides a stunning collection of statistics and case studies to prove his point that change is both necessary and possible. The case studies are broken down so listeners unfamiliar with the process of arrest, interrogation, jury trial, imprisonment, and solitary confinement can understand why the current system is broken. More significant, the final section of the book discusses realistic alternatives already in place in parts of the United States and other countries such as Norway and Germany that prove that rehabilitating prisoners reduces crime. Narrator Joe Barrett's grandfatherly tone is inviting and unintimidating. VERDICT This book might change listeners' viewpoint on how and why criminals are punished in the United States. A necessary purchase for all libraries. ["A stimulating critique of today's criminal justice system with applications to recent cases in Ferguson, MO, and elsewhere, this authoritative and accessible book is suited to a general audience and students": LJ 4/15/15 starred review of the Crown hc.]-Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A law professor sounds an explosive alarm on the hidden unfairness of our legal system. The biggest problem with our criminal justice system, writes Benforado (Law/Drexel Univ.), is that "we have gotten used to it" and failed to act on new scientific evidence exposing the biases built into our legal structures. In this important, deeply researched debut, the author draws on findings from psychology and neuroscience to show that police, jurors, and judges are generally guided by intuitive feelings rather than hard facts in making assessments. They make gut decisions based on their own backgrounds and experiences and then look for supporting data that confirms their judgments. The new research challenges basic assumptions about most key aspects of the legal system, including eyewitness memory, jury deliberations, police procedures, and punishment. "We operate under the illusion that reality enters our brain through our senses unfiltered," writes Benforado, when, in fact, cognitive blinders distort everything: our assessments of crime scenes, responses to mug shots, interrogations of suspects, eyewitness identifications (innocent people are selected in lineups one-third of the time), and reactions to criminal defendants in the courtroom. The problem lies in the human propensity to make snap judgments and to label people, ignoring contradictory information. Benforado uses case studies to illustrate the biases of the system and details many possible ways to reduce our reliance on human perception and memory, from using diverse new technologies to replacing partisan expert witnesses with independent witness panels. He even raises the prospect of virtual trials, in which participants would interact through avatars to eliminate biases. "If a doctor no longer needs to be in the same room with her patients," he writes, "why is it so critical that a defendant be in the same room as the person he allegedly raped or shot or robbed?" An original and provocative argument that upends our most cherished beliefs about providing equal justice under the law. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
