“I can think of no
authors more qualified to research the complex impact of life
sentences than Marc Mauer and Ashley Nellis. They have the expertise
to track down the information that all citizens need to know and the
skills to translate that research into accessible and powerful
prose.”
—Heather Ann
Thompson, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Blood in the Water
From the author of
the classic Race to Incarcerate, a forceful and necessary argument
for eliminating life sentences, including profiles of six people
directly impacted by life sentences by formerly incarcerated author
Kerry Myers
Most Western
democracies have few or no people serving life sentences, yet here in
the United States more than 200,000 people are sentenced to such
prison terms.
Marc Mauer and
Ashley Nellis of The Sentencing Project argue that there is no
practical or moral justification for a sentence longer than twenty
years. Harsher sentences have been shown to have little effect on
crime rates, since people “age out” of crime—meaning that we’re
spending a fortune on geriatric care for older prisoners who pose
little threat to public safety. Extreme punishment for serious crime
also has an inflationary effect on sentences across the spectrum,
helping to account for severe mandatory minimums and other harsh
punishments.
A thoughtful and
stirring call to action, The Meaning of Life also features moving
profiles of a half dozen people affected by life sentences, written
by former “lifer” and award-winning writer Kerry Myers. The book
will tie in to a campaign spearheaded by The Sentencing Project and
offers a much-needed road map to a more humane criminal justice
system.
