Book Review: Wrongful convictions of women: When innocence isn’t enough

• Author: John T. Whitehead
• Published date: 01 December 2017
• Date: 01 December 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0734016817704695
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

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Criminal Justice Review 42(4)
the entire nation, and the time frame has yet to be determined. Addressing next steps and creating a
proactive structure are encouraged throughout by the authors, and it is believed to be a promising
solution. The takeaway let’s not lose this generation of children who visited prisons to see mom or
dad as a reality for their weekend. Remembering those who visited are considered the lucky ones.
The United States could learn something from the European model of incarceration. A hard
piece of evidence to grasp, yet compelling, the 2012 statistic noting that 2.6 million or 1 in 25
minors had a parent in prison or jail. Blacks are disproportionally represented as children with
incarcerated parents and are more likely to experience the consequences of this social inequality
status much differently than their White counterparts. Little research has been entirely devoted to
this area, and the authors work diligently to go beyond the surface—plunging into the cruel reality
that who is your daddy (or mommy) can determine more than previous research has revealed. Not
wanting to suggest all children will have the same outcomes, the data demonstrate disparities that
the ‘‘best of intentions’’ debate continues to fall short of producing results that any country would
be proud of noting.
Incarceration rates have continued to climb, despite the fluctuations in crime. Shifts in policing,
correctional policies, and incarceration ‘‘time for crime’’ suggest a deliberate choice through
policy and enforcement to control rather than a response-driven mechanism for criminal justice
practices. Throughout the book, Wakefield and Wildeman introduce, define, and fact-base their
findings. This look beyond the bars and barbwire of the prisons reminds the world that those who
experience parent incarceration also have a stigma adding a new dimension to the troubling truth.
The number of children maneuvering through life on the pathway of being a child of the incar-
cerated...