Harsh Justice: Criminal Punishment and the Widening Divide between America and Europe

By James Q. Whitman

Book Overview

Criminal punishment in America is harsh and degrading--more so than anywhere else in the liberal west. Executions and long prison terms are commonplace in America. Countries like France and Germany, by contrast, are systematically mild. European offenders are rarely sent to prison, and when they are, they serve far shorter terms than their American counterparts. Why is America so comparatively harsh? In this novel work of comparative legal history, James Whitman argues that the answer lies in America's triumphant embrace of a non-hierarchical social system and distrust of state power which have contributed to a law of punishment that is more willing to degrade offenders.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019518260X
• ISBN13: 9780195182606
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

American versus European Criminal Justice

Anyone who pays attention to the criminal justice systems in America and in other Western democracies knows that the U.S. as a whole is more punitive in its responses to lawbreaking than any similar society. Professor Whitman's wonderful book addresses the question of why this is so. The book's answers, rooted in centuries of history and rich comparative analysis, are surprising, provocative, and persuasive. I know I'll be considering and reconsidering Whitman's major arguments for a long time to come.

Praise for Harsh Justice

"Harsh Justice is original, imaginative, and erudite. The mastery of sources in many languages is awe-inspiring, and Whitman's argument resounds with daring suggestions and bold insights. A genuinely learned book, nothing short of brilliant."--Lawrence Friedman, author of Law in America"In this book James Whitman asks and answers questions in realms where others fear to tread. He confronts the brutal fact that we punish more harshly in the United States than do Europeans and forces us to think about the questions of social structure that lie behind this practice. He develops a thesis about the current impact of Nazi jurisprudence that is sure to trigger arguments from more conventional thinkers. This is a profound book, impeccably researched and documented, one that will change the way we think about criminal punishment and increase our appreciation of comparative legal studies."--George Fletcher, author of The Secret Constitution"Original, insightful, and provocative, Harsh Justice will start a conversation that has been importantly absent from modern criminology and criminal law. James Whitman asks fundamental questions about the cultural roots of modern differences in penal policy in developed nations and breaks new ground in addressing these issues."--Franklin E. Zimring, William G. Simon Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley