Malign Neglect

Despite well-documented and mounting evidence that increased penalties alone cannot reduce crime, the Reagan and Bush administrations repeatedly lobbied for tougher mandatory sentences and more prisons. In Malign Neglect, Michael Tonry addresses these paradoxes with passion and lucidity. Drawing on a vast compendium of the latest statistical, legal, and social science research, he takes on explosive issues and provides a devastating portrait of the humancosts of our current criminal policies. A blistering attack on worn-out misconceptions about race, poverty, crime, and punishment and a fearless prescription for change, Malign Neglect is indispensable reading on a topic which goes to the heart and soul of the nation.