Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Ford’s Alexander Reviews ‘Incarceration Nations’ in Washington Post
What is justice? I’ve asked my children this question from time to time, hoping they will give me an encouraging answer. Usually they parrot what they’ve learned from television or the games they play with friends; they talk about good guys and bad guys, jails and police. I banned toy guns and handcuffs from our home and often say things like: “There is no such thing as good guys and bad guys. All people do good and bad things, including you. You can never know for sure what you would do in another person’s shoes.” They pretend to listen. I will never forget telling my youngest, when she was still in preschool, that police officers in Britain do not carry guns. She looked at me quizzically and asked, “Is Britain another planet?”
Norway might as well be another galaxy, considering the description offered in Baz Dreisinger’s intriguing new book, “Incarceration Nations.” Prisons there are small, typically housing fewer than 50 people and some fewer than 10. They are spread throughout the country to keep prisoners close to their families and communities. . .