Book Review: Why American prisons fail: How to fix them without spending more money (or maybe less)

• Date: 01 March 2017
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016816665154
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Author: Doris Schartmueller
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

process inherent in the republican form of government to which America subscribes. These laws and

policies have helped shape the criminal justice systemand place it in a decadelong pattern of(perhaps

unneeded and maybe deleterious) growth. While some may view the conclusion and elements of the

text, such as the discussion of groupconflict, as being too critical, thetext should instead be acknowl-

edged for whatit is: A sound introduction and discussion of criminaljustice policy matters,as it relates

to American political practices and financial considerations. The text may leave someto be desired in

the form of structure and flow from chapter to chapter; however, a pleasant surprise was its construc-

tion by way of key terms and discussion questions thatfollowed each chapter. The book is set up quite

well to introduce these topics to students and provide mechanisms for their synthesis.

Paxson, P., & Watson, G. H. (2016).

Why American prisons fail: How to fix them without spending more money (or maybe less). Durham, NC: Carolina

Academic Press. 250 pp. $38, ISBN 978-1-61163-518-8.

Reviewed by: Doris Schartmueller, California State University, Chico, Chico, CA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016816665154

Hardly any issue has recently found its way so frequently into the criminological literature than

America’s incarceration boom. Why American Prisons Fail is an insightful text that details

America’s path toward becoming the nation with the highest incarceration rates in the world. The

book, however, does not end there. The authors also propose bipartisan reforms within the criminal

justice system, which should aim at reducing the reliance on incarceration as a form of punishment

for criminal offenders.

The authors of the book are Peyton Paxson, a criminal justice professor from Massachusetts, and

George H. Watson, a former attorney from Texas, who served roughly 3 years in federal prison for

participating in a mortgage fraud case. Given Watson’s firsthand experience, it soon becomes clear

to the reader that the book is more than a descriptive account of the role of incarceration in the

United States. The book provides readers with an insightful perspective on the current state of the

country’s criminal justice system in general and the prison system in particular.

In Chapter 1, the authors address the causes of the American incarceration boom. By examining

demographic, economic, and political factors, they argue that the politics of mass incarceration have

been primarily the result of demographic changes in the form of the so-called baby boom, of political

decisions reflected in the War on Drugs, and the decline of rehabilitation as an important justifica-

tion for punishment in favor of incapacitation.

Chapter 2 details Watson’s journey through the Texas criminal justice system. He explains how

he unknowingly became part of a mortgage fraud conspiracy and how his defense lawyer advised

him to plead guilty to avoid more severe punishment than 3 years in federal prison. Through the

account of his arrest, sentencing, preparation for prison, and time in and after confinement, Watson

conveys to his readers how his prison sentence not only disrupted his own life but also damaged his

family and community.

Following Watson’s story, Chapter 3 provides a college textbook-like overview of theories

explaining criminal behavior and the justifications typically given for punishing criminal offenders

in the United States. What differs from most other books listing theories of punishment, the authors

emphasize in this chapter how rational choice theory underlies the most popular theories of criminal

behavior and punishment in the United States. The freedom to choose for ourselves, which has

become ‘‘deeply engrained in the American psyche’’ since the foundational years, informs most

criminological and penal theories (p. 82).

100 Criminal Justice Review 42(1)