Publishers Weekly
10/31/2022
Anderson, the founder of the Alliance for Safety and Justice, debuts with a passionate and provocative indictment of how the victims’ rights movement has warped the American justice system. Contending that victims’ rights laws are a product of political expediency and opportunism, not sound policy, Anderson claims that they’ve contributed to mass incarceration by encouraging courts and prosecutors to value punishment over rehabilitation and police departments to “pay more attention to drug possessors than to rape survivors in communities of color.” She credibly debunks public safety “myths” foundational to the victims’ rights moment, including the notions that putting more people in prison translates into less crime and that “tough drug sentencing” is an effective deterrent. Her suggestions for reform include legislation to provide funds for victims as well as inmate rehabilitation programs, the implementation of community-based public safety initiatives, and more mental health resources. Throughout, Anderson documents harrowing miscarriages of justice and expresses heartfelt compassion for victims, inmates, and their families. The result is a lucid road map for a more humane criminal justice system. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
Praise for In Their Names:
"A new vision for victims’ rights, one that focuses not on punishment, but on providing aid and trauma recovery, with the goal of meeting people’s material needs and interrupting cycles of violence."
—The Guardian
“A passionate and provocative indictment of how the victims’ rights movement has warped the American justice system. . . . Throughout, Anderson documents harrowing miscarriages of justice and expresses heartfelt compassion for victims, inmates, and their families. The result is a lucid road map for a more humane criminal justice system.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Persuasive and well-written.”
—Library Journal
“This well-researched, results-driven, and readable work challenges ideas of victimhood and offers a way forward from mass incarceration to true public safety.”
—Booklist
“A timely and appreciated contribution to our national dialogue on crime.”
—Midwest Book Review
“This timely book reveals an explosive truth: mass incarceration—built in the names of crime victims—doesn’t serve their true interests. Instead of longer prison sentences, Lenore Anderson shows how most victims want and need a new approach to safety, rooted in healing, care, and redress. In Their Names deserves a wide audience, from policy-makers to ordinary citizens alike.”
—James Forman Jr., Yale Law School professor and author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Locking Up Our Own
“This book is a game-changer, taking what we think we know about crime victims and public safety and turning it on its head. Chock-full of breakthrough insights, compelling stories, compassion, and clarity, this urgent call for a new justice system is a must-read for everyone who cares about safety.”
—Van Jones, CNN contributor and host of Uncommon Ground
“A startling wake-up call to the grave mistakes the nation has made in revictimizing victims. Masterfully written, the book’s moving stories will inspire anyone to reevaluate our culture’s definition of safety and its concrete steps will provide a way forward to a more humane future. It should be required reading. Brava, Lenore Anderson!”
—Susan Burton, founder of A New Way of Life and author of Becoming Ms. Burton
“One of the most effective criminal justice reformers America has ever had takes a break from her frontline work to show the damage that has come from misrepresenting victims; why respecting victims would change everything; and what a system built on real justice for victims would look like. This seminal book provides a road map to a saner and more effective system.”
—David Kennedy, director of National Network for Safe Communities and John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor
“A work of tremendous wisdom and compassion. Lenore Anderson shatters a foundational myth—that one person’s suffering can make another whole—and offers a vision of justice and healing that is generous enough to encompass all of us.”
—Nell Bernstein, author of Burning Down the House
“This book represents a vital missing piece in the scholarly arsenal of our fight against mass incarceration, not only tracing the role of so-called victim’s rights movements in creating the carceral state but showcasing how the very concept of ‘victim’ has been racialized and weaponized throughout American history. A must-read.”
—Baz Dreisinger, John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and author of Incarceration Nations
Library Journal
09/16/2022
Former prosecutor Anderson, a criminal justice advisor and sponsor of California Proposition 47 (which reduced some nonviolent crime penalties), devotes most of her book to violent crime victims. Citing years of discrimination and neglect, she argues that mass incarceration of criminals is not the answer for reducing crime. The author believes that unaddressed trauma predicts future criminality. The goal is to redirect resources. Her group, the Alliance for Safety and Justice, proposes trauma recovery centers, increased civil legal help for victims, and more community workers to assist them as well. Persuasive and well-written for a general audience, the book explains how the United States arrived at a "hierarchy of harm," in which so-called "good" white victims were preferred over "bad" Black ones. The author cites the San Francisco Trauma Center as an example of a solution. This model of mental health and practical support has spread to other states and has proven successful in reducing recidivism. VERDICT Supporters of criminal justice reform will enjoy this non-technical plea for change.—Harry Charles
