When Should Law Forgive?
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“Martha Minow is a voice of moral clarity: a lawyer arguing for forgiveness, a scholar arguing for evidence, a person arguing for compassion.” —Jill Lepore, author of These Truths
In an age increasingly defined by accusation and resentment, Martha Minow makes an eloquent, deeply-researched argument in favor of strengthening the role of forgiveness in the administration of law. Through three case studies, Minow addresses such foundational issues as: Who has the right to forgive? Who should be forgiven? And under what terms?
The result is as lucid as it is compassionate: A compelling study of the mechanisms of justice by one of this country’s foremost legal experts.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Minow (Between Vengeance and Forgiveness), former dean of Harvard Law School, offers a thoughtful and well-reasoned treatise on forgiveness as an alternative to traditional legal remedies. She begins with the question of forgiving youth, specifically child soldiers in Africa and American gang members. Minow explores a number of perspectives, considering young offenders' individual responsibility and the knowledge that they are also victims who have often been coerced, seduced, or kidnapped. Taking as a legitimate goal the opportunity for young offenders to have a constructive future, she advocates for the development of separate juvenile justice systems, restorative justice mechanisms, and truth commissions. In a similar vein, she argues that forgiving unmanageable debt loads owed by governments and individuals alike can yield better economic results than exacting payment at any cost, despite the risk that it could make some consumers act recklessly. On the topic of amnesty, she weighs the societal gains and risks, using as examples the amnesty for Vietnam draft avoiders and Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon. Though her theories are abstract in some ways, she connects them to topical subjects including presidential self-pardons, immigration, and the legalization of marijuana. Minow's compassionate, knowledgeable, and nuanced examination of the gains that may follow policies that substitute forgiveness for rigid legal remedies is groundbreaking and should provide a useful framework for future policy makers.
