Until We Reckon

Adult nonfiction 

     Decades ago a man tried to rape me.  I was able to fight him off and scream loudly enough to attract the police.  He was indicted.  I testified.  He was convicted.  I'd thought I'd feel relieved, but I left the courtroom feeling conflicted.  I didn't want him endangering other people.  But I didn't want his life to come to nothing.  I wondered why there wasn't an option that would, instead of prison, offer alcohol rehab, counseling, job training, and whatever else could help him.

     "Incarceration is also limited as a tool because it treats violence as a problem of dangerous individuals and not as a problem of social context and history...Poverty drives violence.  Inequity drives violence.  Lack of opportunity drives violence."

     If incarceration really could keep us safe, Danielle Sered, author of Until We Reckon, tells us, America would be the safest country around.  With 5% of the world's population we have almost 25% of its people behind bars.  This carries an enormous cost not only to those imprisoned and their families, but to those they have harmed and to society as a whole.

     Sered tells us that we need alternatives to prison and not just for people who commit drug and nonviolent offenses.  They need to be in place for people who have assaulted, raped, and murdered.  Prison must be a remedy of last resort for the relatively small number who present a clear and present danger to the public.

     If you're one of the many people understandably thinking drug abuse, sure, theft, maybe, assault, no freaking way, do not put this review down.  Sered isn't proposing a get out of jail free deal.  The restorative justice she's pushing for requires a great deal of work.

     If we'd had that my assailant would have had to hear about the impact of his act on me.  He would have told me why he did what he did.  Maybe he would have done community service.  And he would have done things that would have made him less likely to reoffend.

     Sered is no naive academic theorist.  She has street cred.  Her New York based Common Justice is the first prison alternative program that focuses on violent felonies committed by adults.  She knows better than most of us what is possible.  

     If you're bothered by America's #1 ranking in proportion of citizens incarcerated, concerned about the disproportionate harm done to Blacks, tired of the human and financial costs, and wanting to see a better alternative, you will find Until We Reckon to be an engaging and thought provoking read.

On a purrrsonal note, it was my first week working three days instead of four.  It felt amazing.  I had some time for working on my student initiatives.  The highlight of my week was Adam visiting.  He'd been recruiting prospects for his company at a UMaine engineering fair.  He stopped by to see Eugene, Tobago, and me.  It was wonderful to be together.  He gave me my birthday gift which is the stationary bike I've been coveting.  Now I can get exercise on the days I don't go to campus.  The low point was my flu shot.  My arm is still sore.(Jules)

I saw my Adam!!!  Oh, happy day!!! (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Adam.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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