Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration

I couldn’t put this book down. Informing, engaging, inspiring, maddening and, in the end, encouraging in many dimensions.Emily Bazelon shines a light on issues of judicial justice in a way I’ve never experienced before. Clear and personal. I’ll never think about the issues of diversion, plea bargaining and setting bails the same way again. Nor the importance of the values and commitment of prosecutors and the role of judges and courts as well.I’m impressed by the trust which Bazelon created with so many principals in the story. That's one of the reasons why I was so engaged as a reader.The book highlights heroes while not sparing those whose conduct was terribly wrong.Bazelon's concept of linking individual personal stories together with broad perspectives on the legal issues and the value of linking judicial reforms with lower incarcerations and reduced recidivism works well and kept me deeply engaged.The appendix is a gold mine of practical actions, backed up by examples of where they’re working.I believe this book should be in the hands of every mayor and governor and DA and judge in this nation.I hope it becomes required reading in law schools across the country.At the very end of the final chapter, Bazelon writes: “As a journalist, I have never felt a greater sense of urgency about exposing the roots of a problem and shining a light on the people working to solve it. I feel a great sense of possibility. We have to fix the broken parts of America’s criminal justice system. And we the people have the power to do it with our votes.”I can say that this book eloquently conveys Bazelon's sense of urgency as well as her sense of possibility. This book deserves broad readership.

I felt Emily Bazelon did a masterful portrait of how the legal system works in America and how expediency often affects those who are either innocent or marginally guilty in many cases. Her writing was conversational and succinct in explaining how the law functions in good and bad decisions.

As a Memphis-based criminal justice reform advocate, I felt that this book was written just for me. The book has two case histories, one about the Shelby County case in which Nuora Jackson was a victim of prosecutorial misconduct by our feral District Attorney Amy Weirich, who received a "private reprimand" when Jackson's conviction was thrown out. The other case history was that of the pseudonymous Kevin, who navigated a Brooklyn diversion program and escaped the lifelong penalty of having a conviction on his young record. The other three chapters are an account of how 15 or so reform candidates won election for DA with national support from a burgeoning movement to process justice reform via enlightened prosecution policies. This book is brilliant and insightful and recommended for anyone suffering from prosecutorial excess.

Charged is a book about the criminal justice system and mass incarceration. The author uses two separate cases to help illustrate her overall theme of criminal justice reform. Rather than look at the problem from a policy standpoint, author Emily Bazelon focuses on the role of the prosecutor.The author chose two cases to focus on: one involving a weapons charge and the other a murder. As the author follows the two cases, the many faults and disparities of our broken criminal justice system are laid bare.Bazelon's book carefully examines all aspects of our current justice system. She rightfully focuses on the role of the prosecutor. If you want to reduce mass incarceration, reform needs to start here. Most people think that prosecutors are fair and balanced. They protect the public from criminals and only seek out appropriate sentences. The truth is far from this idealized notion. Prosecutors have almost unlimited power. To reduce the high costs of trials, they offer plea deals. They threaten those who refuse plea deals with additional charges and lengthy prison sentences. For those who do go to trial, they soon learn that they are at a distinct disadvantage. There are thousands of people in prison right now who are serving unjust sentences simply because a prosecutor decided to teach them a lesson.From a narrative standpoint, the book falls short. Besides jumping from one case to the other, the author interweaves anecdotes and case files to help explain the point she is trying to make. For example, when she gets to the topic of bail for the murder suspect, she spends the next fifty pages discussing the many problems associated with the way high bail demands leads to mass incarceration. These are important topics to cover, but the many tangents lead to a disjointed narrative.There's no question that this book is required reading for anyone involved in criminal justice. The two cases, however, that the author chose to highlight were not well suited for the intended purpose.

Most of us recognize male bonding. I can relate to the guy. 25 years of marriage and 75 years with a sister help me relate to the lady. Mixing the two stories with clear explanation of law shows me choices possible. We are living w consequences of current system. Author shows enough trailblazers to believe what she advocates. Superb.

Great read if you want some insight about the system.