A forward concerning recent events: I wrote this series on criminal justice reform before the murder of George Floyd sparked protests across the country. In the articles, I took care to briefly mention race as a factor in our justice system, but not to focus on it as some other reform advocates do. That racism…
Author: David Newman
David is a sophomore studying history at UC Berkeley. He is interested in issues of human rights and reform in the United States.
The Death of American Justice Part II: Best Intentions, Retribution, and the Tragedy of the American Victim Rights Movement
Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and even Joe Biden. These men have been cast as conservative arch-villains in the story of American mass incarceration. It’s a depiction that’s taken as gospel by many in America, especially on the left, and its appeal is easy to see. Yet the full truth is much bleaker. And…
The Death of American Justice Part I: Why Retributive Justice Must End
“An eye for an eye cannot right a wrong, it will only leave two bloody sockets and the blanket of blinding darkness.”
