Description: The United States imprisons a higher proportion of its population than any other nation. Mass Incarceration Nation offers a novel, in-the-trenches perspective to explain the factors - historical, political, and institutional - that led to the current system of mass imprisonment. The book examines the causes and impacts of mass incarceration on both the political and criminal justice systems. With accessible language and straightforward statistical analysis, former prosecutor turned law professor Jeffrey Bellin provides a formula for reform to return to the low incarceration rates that characterized the United States prior to the 1970s.
Brief description: Jeffrey Bellin is the Mills E. Godwin, Jr., Professor at William and Mary Law School. Prior to becoming a law professor, Bellin served as a prosecutor in Washington, DC.
Review Quotes: 'a thorough and compelling book on the origins of and solutions for mass incarceration. ... the book provides an excellent overview of the mass incarceration problem and charts a potential path forward. Bellin provides an interesting alternative to more abolitionist approaches to the problems of mass incarceration. ... Recommended.' J. A. Pierceson, Choice