Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration Hope from Civil Society

Mass incarceration is an overwhelming problem and reforms are often difficult, leading to confusion about what to do and where to start. Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration: Hope from Civil Society introduces the key issues that need immediate attention and provides concrete direction about effective solutions systemically and relationally. In this work Anthony B. Bradley recognizes that offenders are persons with inherent dignity. Mass incarceration results from the systemic breakdown of criminal law procedure and broken communities. Using the principle of personalism, attention is drawn to those areas that directly contact the lives of offenders and determine their fate. Bradley explains how reform must be built from the person up, and once these areas are reformed our law enforcement culture will change for the better. Taking an innovative approach, Anthony B. Bradley explores what civic institutions need to do to prevent people from falling into the criminal justice system and recidivism for those released from prison.

Introduction; 1. An overcriminalized America; 2. A closer loser look at prosecutors; 3. Giving judges more discretion; 4. Defending the disadvantaged; 5. Ending the school-to-prison pipeline; 6. The social, moral, and economic costs of overcriminalization; 7. Progress begins at the state level; 8. Help and hope from civil society; Conclusion.

Anthony B. Bradley is Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Program Chair for Religious and Theological Studies, and Director of the Center for the Study of Human Flourishing at The King's College, New York. He is also a Research Fellow at the Acton Institute. He has previously studied ethics at Fordham University, New York, and Criminal Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York. He has authored and edited eight books and has written several dozen articles. His writings on religious and cultural issues have been published in a variety of journals, including Al Jazeera, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, the Detroit News, Christianity Today, and World Magazine. Professor Bradley has appeared on C-SPAN, NPR, CNN/Headline News, and Fox News, among others. He is a member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the American Academy of Religion.