The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

Bound to stir debate and reflection, Beyond Prisons traces the history and offers strong ethical and moral assessments of our penal system. The book lays out a new paradigm based on restorative justice - a system of remediation and reconciliation rather than retributive incarceration - and puts forward a 12- point plan for immediate changes. It also examines the ways that race and poverty drive public policy and law enforcement.

"The current system isn't working to provide justice or public safety. We need to start saying so, loudly and clearly," says co- author, Laura Magnani, assistant director for justice of AFSC Oakland, Calif. and a respected expert in the field of criminal justice. Magnani is also author of "America's First Penitentiary: A 200-Year-Old Failure."

"Too often we see the term restorative justice applied to extra punishment added onto existing sentences - such as restitution added to a prisoner's sentence so that he or she has a financial debt to pay upon release," says co-author, Harmon Wray, a minister and director of Restorative Justice Ministries, a project of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, based in Nashville, Tenn. Wray wrote a book the subject for the United Methodists in 2002.

"Beyond Prisons" opens a long-needed national dialogue on our responsibilities as citizens.

Because prisons are a closed system, operating in secrecy, the extreme forms of abuse, violence, and racism practiced daily behind bars go largely unseen by the public. Racial disparities become more and more pronounced as a person moves through the system, from arrest, to conviction, to sentencing.

Beyond Prisons (ISBN/Product No.: 0800638328, $13 US) is published by Fortress Press, a world-recognized leader in biblical studies. Copies are available by dialing 1-888-588-AFSC (2372). Visa and Mastercard accepted.

Backed by more than 40 years of working with prisoners, parolees, and victims of crime, the American Friends Services Committee Criminal Justice Program challenges the morality and effectiveness of a "tough on crime" mentality. Additional information can be found at http://www.afsc.org

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

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