Conversion and the Rehabilitation of the Penal System
A Theological Rereading of Criminal Justice
Andrew Skotnicki
Reviews and Awards
"For all those people who are tired of the traditional debates about 'the purpose of punishment,' Andrew Skotnicki offers an analysis that is as unique as it is thought-provoking. His view of the current dilemma, one that many would agree with, culminates in a conclusion that is both surprising and compelling." --Todd R. Clear, Distinguished Professor in the School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University
"As a plea for a non-violent penology, Andrew Skotnicki's book is nothing less than an attempt to get Americans to stop talking about crime and how to punish it and to focus instead on harm and how we might help people to heal. It is a timely, vitally necessary, and potentially ground-shifting book." --Joshua Dubler, author of Down in the Chapel: Religious Life in an American Prison
Skotnicki's splendid new book offers us an incisive critique of the criminality of our current criminal justice system. Erudite, yet eminently readable, Conversion and Rehabilitation of the Penal System presents a cogent case against both retributive and deterrent rationales for detention. Looking ahead to a systemic rehabilitation of our carceral regime, Skotnicki looks back to the original legitimation of incarceration-conversion and restoration to moral community." --William O'Neill, S.J., Lo Shiavo Chair in Catholic Social Thought, University of San Francisco