II Judicial -- A Practitioners -- 11. Representing the Underdog: The Righteous Development of Death Penalty Defense Attorneys -- 12. How Can You Prosecute These People? -- 13. Calling Your Bluff: How Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Adapt Plea Bargaining Strategies to Increased Formalization -- 14. Examining the Death Penalty Insider Perspective: Capital Bench and Bar Interviews -- 15. Maintaining the Myth of Individualized Justice: Probation Presentence Reports -- B Outsiders -- 16. Preparing to Testify: Rape Survivors Negotiating the Criminal Justice Process

This reader, organized by type of methodology -- experimental, survey and field research, analysis of records, and secondary data analysis -- offers case studies and commentary about research design, varying research approaches, the process of measurement, and the concepts of reliability and validity. The book includes 20 articles drawn from major scholarly journals, each accompanied by a Commentaries section written by the original author. The commentaries provide a behind-the-scenes perspective, discussions of why a particular methodology was chosen, problems that occurred, and how the research results differed from expectations. Each article also has an original introduction and conclusion section, meant to help readers understand the nature, issues and conduct of the study.

This first comprehensive study of Chicanas encountering the U.S. criminal justice system is set within the context of the international war on drugs as witnessed at street level in Chicana/o barrios. Chicana Lives and Criminal Justice uses oral history to chronicle the lives of twenty-four Chicana pintas (prisoners/former prisoners) repeatedly arrested and incarcerated for non-violent, low-level economic and drug-related crimes. It also provides the first documentation of the thirty-four-year history of Sybil Brand Institute, Los Angeles' former women's jail. In a time and place where drug war policies target people of color and their communities, drug-addicted Chicanas are caught up in an endless cycle of police abuse, arrest, and incarceration. They feel the impact of mandatory sentencing laws, failing social services and endemic poverty, violence, racism, and gender discrimination. The women in this book frankly discuss not only their jail experiences, but also their family histories, involvement with gangs, addiction to drugs, encounters with the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, and their successful and unsuccessful attempts to recover from addiction and reconstitute fractured families. The Chicanas' stories underscore the amazing resilience and determination that have allowed many of the women to break the cycle of abuse. Díaz-Cotto also makes policy recommendations for those who come in contact with Chicanas/Latinas caught in the criminal justice system.

This innovative text/reader for undergraduate criminal justice courses in the United States provides a companion or alternative to traditional texts. Instead of providing a "catalog of information" this book gives students rich insights into what it is like to work within the system (as practitioners) as well as from those who experience criminal justice as outsiders (as citizens, clients, jurors, probationers, or inmates). By providing qualitative and teachable articles from the perspective of those who experience the three components of the criminal justice system, students will be better informed about the realities of the day-to-day job of criminal justice professionals. A second, but equally important, part of the readings asks that students look beyond the actual content of the articles and use a "critical thinking" perspective to develop their own thoughts about the functions of the criminal justice system on a broader societal level. The Editors have used these articles and this approach very successfully in their large undergraduate criminal justice classes, assigning the readings together with an "essentials" paperback text.

Voices From American Prisons: Faith, Education and Healing is a comprehensive and unique contribution to understanding the dynamics and nature of penal confinement. In this book, author Kaia Stern describes the history of punishment and prison education in the United States and proposes that specific religious and racial ideologies - notions of sin, evil and otherness - continue to shape our relationship to crime and punishment through contemporary penal policy. Inspired by people who have lived, worked, and studied in U.S. prisons, Stern invites us to rethink the current ‘punishment crisis’ in the United States. Based on in-depth interviews with people who were incarcerated, as well as extensive conversations with students, teachers, corrections staff, and prison administrators, the book introduces the voices of those who have participated in the few remaining post-secondary education programs that exist behind bars. Drawing on individual narrative and various modern day case examples, Stern focuses on dehumanization, resistance, and community transformation. She demonstrates how prison education is essential, can provide healing, and yet is still not enough to interrupt mass incarceration. In short, this book explores the possibility of transformation from a retributive punishment system to a system of justice. The book’s engaging, human accounts and multidisciplinary perspective will appeal to criminologists, sociologists, historians, theologians and scholars of education alike. Voices from American Prisons will also capture general readers who are interested in learning about a timely and often silenced reality of contemporary modern society.

Interviews with African American women in prison.

Voices from Criminal Justice, Second Edition, gives students rich insight into the criminal justice system from the point of view of practitioners, as well as outsiders—citizens, clients, jurors, probationers, or inmates. These qualitative and teachable articles cover all three components of the criminal justice system, ensuring students will be better informed about the daily realities of criminal justice professionals in law enforcement, courts, and corrections. At the same time, the juxtaposition of insider and outsider views allows students to look beyond the actual content of the articles and develop their own views about the functions and flaws of the criminal justice system on a societal level. This innovative reader, now with seven new articles designed to stimulate discussions and promote critical thought, is perfect for undergraduate criminal justice courses in the United States, and has proven to be an effective companion or alternative to traditional introductory textbooks. Voices from Criminal Justice, Second Edition, also offers a framework for more advanced students in special issues or capstone courses to synthesize information from earlier courses and develop their own view of American justice.