Michael Tonry

Can punishments ever meaningfully be proportioned in severity to the seriousness of the crimes for which they are imposed? Meer

Punishment is a complex human institution. It has normative, political, social, psychological, and legal dimensions, and ways of thinking about each of them change over time. Meer

This volume gathers together a topical collection of articles on penal reform in the United States, Europe, Japan and other English-speaking countries. Meer

The imprisonment rate in America has grown by a factor of five since 1972. In that time, punishment policies have toughened, compassion for prisoners has diminished, and prisons have gotten worse-a stark contrast to the origins of the prison 200 years ago as a humanitarian reform, a substitute for capital and corporal punishment and banishment. Meer