After reading and discussing the required books for this class, a multitude of issues concerning the deficiencies of our criminal justice system have been presented. Prison overcrowding, the overrepresentation of minorities, and the efficiency of our prisons have created ongoing debates. Currie, like previous authors, exemplifies these problems among the pages yet offers more coherent explanations and draws more realistic conclusions regarding these matters. In Crime & Punishment in America, the author dispels the widespread myths that linger around the U.S. justice system. He does so by placing equal blame on the opposing political parties and renounces his objectivism to facts. Thus, the alternatives Currie offers are legitimate in serving to address the social epidemic that has become incarceration.
             I believe that Currie does a superior task at assessing the "prison experiment" than past authors. He notes that although there has been an overall reduction in crime, examiners must be aware that this leveling-off has succeeded extremely high crime rates. Moreover, his caution to not relate decreasing crime rates with the incarceration rates is a common oversight in our society. What is also ignored is that violence has risen dramatically, especially among the poor and young. So in reality, deterrence, rehabilitation and incapacitation have had marginal, or no effect, on crime as discussed in class. That leads us to assume that our exuberant crime rates are due to an increase in crime and harsher policies.
             It is challenging to understand the significance of data without making a
             qualified comparison. In this case, we turn to using the rates of other industrialized countries to provide us with a frame of reference. However, there are always cautions in doing so. For example, Brandon argued that Currie's examination of statistics from the United States and Russia was not reasonable; being that the latte...