Corrections_Today_Fall_2024_Vol.86_No.3

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section by Contributor James Binnall, an attorney in California with a prior felony record, who could serve in court as a lawyer but not as juror due to that state’s permanent felon jury exclusion laws at the time. Binnall profoundly asked: “How could I be ‘fit’ to counsel those facing years in prison or death, but ‘unfit’ to adjudicate even a minor civil matter?” (p. 429). A conspicuous paradox of the system! It is encouraging that the book includes several contributors who have been formerly incarcerated, as they have been directly impacted by the system and have much to share. It must have been a rather arduous task for the editors to compile and select the many articles in Dismantling Mass Incarceration . And they should be complimented on this! However, an article on navigating the criminal justice bureaucracy, with its different levels of government that are largely disconnected and have different revenue sources, would be beneficial to “ordinary people” working outside the system. For instance, Minnesota community correctional supervision is made of three delivery systems (state, county and the judiciary) with different reporting authorities. To be fair, the editors did acknowledge the complexity of this “non-system” in their editorial comments (p. xvii), but a greater elaboration was needed. Progressive prosecutors deserve special mention, as one contributor (Emily Bazelon) indicates, it is the “most promising means of reform on the political landscape.” (p. 100).

The contributors in this area have done an excellent job in explaining this new phenomenon and its challenges. An identical progressive prosecutor scenario, as described in Dismantling Mass Incarceration, is being played out in real time in Minnesota (Londono, 2024). In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, a progressive prosecutor was elected in Hennepin County (a large, mainly urban county that incorporates the City of Minneapolis) on a campaigned promise to make the criminal justice system less punitive and more humane. She currently faces the same challenges as described in the book: Attorney General taking over a case because she did not want to certify a juvenile as an adult for prosecution, two trial judges rejected plea deals as too lenient and opposition from Minneapolis Police Union for charging a state trooper with a traffic stop that resulted in a death of a person. Irrespective of one’s position on progressive prosecutors, the readings accurately described this current development. Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for change is a good read! I recommend it to all who wish to expand their horizon in criminal justice issues, irrespective of liberal or conservative dispositions. CT ENDNOTES Londono, Ernesto (April 14, 2024). “This Prosecutor Pledged to Change George Floyd’s City. Her Critics are Circling.” New York Times.

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Stevenson, Bryan (2014). Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption . NY: Spiegel & Grau.

Stuntz, William J. (2011). The Collapse of the American Criminal Justice System. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ■

Corrections Today | Fall 2024

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