Unfair
The New Science of Criminal Injustice
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- USD 9.99
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- USD 9.99
Descripción editorial
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Unfair succinctly and persuasively recounts cutting-edge research testifying to the faulty and inaccurate procedures that underpin virtually all aspects of our criminal justice system, illustrating many with case studies.”—The Boston Globe
A child is gunned down by a police officer; an investigator ignores critical clues in a case; an innocent man confesses to a crime he did not commit; a jury acquits a killer. The evidence is all around us: Our system of justice is fundamentally broken.
But it’s not for the reasons we tend to think, as law professor Adam Benforado argues in this eye-opening, galvanizing book. Even if the system operated exactly as it was designed to, we would still end up with wrongful convictions, trampled rights, and unequal treatment. This is because the roots of injustice lie not inside the dark hearts of racist police officers or dishonest prosecutors, but within the minds of each and every one of us.
This is difficult to accept. Our nation is founded on the idea that the law is impartial, that legal cases are won or lost on the basis of evidence, careful reasoning and nuanced argument. But they may, in fact, turn on the camera angle of a defendant’s taped confession, the number of photos in a mug shot book, or a simple word choice during a cross-examination. In Unfair, Benforado shines a light on this troubling new field of research, showing, for example, that people with certain facial features receive longer sentences and that judges are far more likely to grant parole first thing in the morning.
Over the last two decades, psychologists and neuroscientists have uncovered many cognitive forces that operate beyond our conscious awareness. Until we address these hidden biases head-on, Benforado argues, the social inequality we see now will only widen, as powerful players and institutions find ways to exploit the weaknesses of our legal system.
Weaving together historical examples, scientific studies, and compelling court cases—from the border collie put on trial in Kentucky to the five teenagers who falsely confessed in the Central Park Jogger case—Benforado shows how our judicial processes fail to uphold our values and protect society’s weakest members. With clarity and passion, he lays out the scope of the legal system’s dysfunction and proposes a wealth of practical reforms that could prevent injustice and help us achieve true fairness and equality before the law.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Audiobook veteran Barrett brings his raspy voice and knack for accentuating emotional nuance in his delivery to the new title from legal scholar Benforado. The book uncovers a wide range of scientific findings that reveal rampant bias in the United States justice system, particularly emphasizing how processes and systems tied to a punitive punishment approach make the streets less rather than more safe from crime. Benforado minces no words in his harsh view of the predominant American perspectives compared with other Western industrialized democracies regarding such matters as the police, courts, and prisons; Barrett's animated narration stays consistent with the tenor of this hard-hitting message. Barrett provides an especially effective whimsical and sardonic tone in rendering Benforado's historical overview of the retribution model of law and order, highlighting such baffling primitive practices as murder trials for animals, something that is compared to the nation's recent track record of jailing the mentally ill and addicted populations instead of providing access to medical treatment. A Crown hardcover.