Criminal Law & Procedure, Penology & Correctional Studies, Criminology, Ethics & Moral Philosophy

In Defense of Flogging

Name: In Defense of Flogging
Author: Peter Moskos
ISBN: 9780465032419

by Peter Moskos

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Overview

Prisons impose tremendous costs, yet they're easily ignored. Criminals— even low-level nonviolent offenders— enter our dysfunctional criminal justice system and disappear into a morass that's safely hidden from public view. Our "tough on crime" political rhetoric offers us no way out, and prison reformers are too quickly dismissed as soft on criminals. Meanwhile, the taxpayer picks up the extraordinary and unnecessary bill.

In Defense of Flogging presents a solution both radical and simple: give criminals a choice between incarceration and the lash. Flogging is punishment: quick, cheap, and honest.

Noted criminologist Peter Moskos, in irrefutable style, shows the logic of the new system while highlighting flaws in the status quo. Flogging may be cruel, but In Defense of Flogging shows us that compared to our broken prison system, it is the lesser of two evils.

Synopsis

Prisons impose tremendous costs, yet they're easily ignored. Criminals-- even low-level nonviolent offenders-- enter our dysfunctional criminal justice system and disappear into a morass that's safely hidden from public view. Our "tough on crime" political rhetoric offers us no way out, and prison reformers are too quickly dismissed as soft on criminals. Meanwhile, the taxpayer picks up the extraordinary and unnecessary bill.

In Defense of Flogging presents a solution both radical and simple: give criminals a choice between incarceration and the lash. Flogging is punishment: quick, cheap, and honest.

About the Author, Peter Moskos

Peter Moskos is assistant professor of Law, Police Science, and Criminal Justice Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the City University of New York’s Doctoral Program in Sociology, and is a former Baltimore City police officer. Author of Cop in the Hood, which won the 2008 PROSE Award for best Sociology Book, he lives in Queens, New York.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Moskos, an assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who specializes in police and criminal science, debates with the utmost seriousness the merits of flogging as an alternative to incarceration. Whether it's called caning or lashing, he concludes flogging, which penetrates the flesh but is over quickly, is less cruel than depriving people of a chunk of their lives in "a barbaric, inhuman" institution where a record number of 2.3 million Americans endure insult and humiliation, with a high incidence of sexual aggression, rape, and a great risk of contracting a communicable disease. Moskos lists the long history of prison reforms in the U.S., but concludes that our penal system remains "an insidious marriage of entombment and torture." Presenting the Singapore and Malaysian models of flogging, the author draws on interviews and recommendations to boost his "thought experiment." Indeed, when Moskos mentions the possibility of electric shock as another option , readers will begin to wonder if the writer is poking outlandish fun and crafting a notion similar to Swift's 1729 classic "A Modest Proposal," using satire to call attention to the "shame" of our inhumane prison system. (June)

Library Journal

This provocatively titled volume claims that the American prison system is too expensive and has failed to be fully effective throughout its history. Moskos (law, police science, & criminal justice administration, John Jay Coll. of Criminal Justice) uses the long-abandoned practice of flogging to examine the American penal system's history and its shortcomings. Flogging faded in the 18th century, as penitentiaries strived to become more humane. In a straightforward style, the author argues that the humiliation of flogging is preferable to long periods of isolation. He further argues that the reforms meant to improve prison conditions have made them worse, e.g., in early jails, families visited prisoners freely and provided food and other necessities. Modern prisons separate prisoners from their families in destructive ways, and tougher sentencing has done little to stop repeat offenders. VERDICT Moskos's argument is unconventional and convincing. Those interested in prison reform will find much to contemplate here, although they may not agree with Moskos's arguments. Lay readers interested in the law will also be drawn to this. The title alone will attract a large audience.—Becky Kennedy, Atlanta-Fulton P.L.