Abstract
Punishing Race: A Continuing American Dilemma critically examines the link between continued racial injustice and disproportionate black incarceration. In this work, Tonry traces how black Americans became overrepresented in the criminal justice system, why such overrepresentation is unwarranted, and possible steps to correct this injustice. In constructing his argument, he situates the US racial hierarchy within the historical context of criminal justice polices, moralism, and recent moves toward deterrence as a means of crime control. By framing racially motivated criminal justice policies as the central impediment to black progress, Tonry hopes to inspire a new wave of activism.
Tonry begins by tracing the history of black subjugation in the USA. He argues that racism was not only permissible, but was integral to the moral order. He suggests that although blacks ostensibly have the same rights as whites in post-civil rights ‘colorblind’ America, mass incarceration is now the central policy responsible for minimizing black progress.
Tonry also debunks assertions about criminality and the justifications for penal responses, including deterrence and incapacitation, and suggests that harsher sentencing in drug crimes and a move toward deterrence are key mechanisms that have driven mass incarceration. He provides evidence that contradicts the widespread pre-‘War on Drugs’ assumption that blacks commit more drug crime. He also argues that despite imprisoning its citizenry at a rate several times that of any other country, incarceration has not directly affected crime rates in the USA; the presumed deterring effects of harsh punishment, such as ‘three strikes’, on drug and other major crime categories are not supported by research evidence. Although Tonry concedes that incapacitation is effective for certain populations, he does not find long sentences justifiable, especially for young men since most desist from crime at the age of 35. He ponders the irony of the continued high crime rates in the USA, given the lengthy sentences imposed even for petty crime, a willingness to imprison juveniles, and the continued investment in capital punishment. Tonry then asks why the USA has not abandoned these policies, since there are only minimal (if any) crime reduction benefits from these policies, and since we know that whites commit more drug crimes than blacks.
His answer is at once simple and quite complex. Tonry posits that the ‘southern strategy’ is a central political factor driving these failed policies. This strategy is a geopolitical bend on racial threat theory, whereby politicians use crime control as means to tap into whites’ anxiety, fears, and resentment toward blacks. Whites’ fears stoke ‘tough on crime’ legislation and harsher sentences, even for the pettiest of crimes. Among these policies that contribute to lengthy sentences is the use of prior convictions in sentencing determinations, a practice that is fairly unique to the USA. According to Tonry, very few other countries consider prior convictions at all, and of those that do, the effect on sentence length is minimal. By contrast, in many US jurisdictions, not only are prior convictions considered, additional years (compared with months in other countries) are added to sentences.
Tonry’s framework effectively links American crime control policies to the racial hierarchy in the USA; however, in making the call to action, he misses opportunities to expand crime theories into other vital spheres. His geo-political ‘southern strategy’ argument evokes the question of how norms and morals are deployed, yet it does not incorporate the contributions made through the cultural sociology of the south. Nor does it directly examine how southern social and political culture may affect mass incarceration, the death penalty, or prison proliferation. The dramatic regional differences in almost every measure of punitiveness between southern states and the rest of the country make this is a major oversight. Tonry also misses an opportunity to engage race theorists and political scientists in the multiple racial projects within the criminal justice system. For instance, he could use Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s central frames of colorblind racism in explaining how whites rationalize racial profiling, or to further elaborate his argument about whites’ lack of empathy for blacks.
Punishing Race details and pulls together a multitude of factors related to continued racial injustice in the US criminal justice system, many of which have been covered in other scholarship. What is novel about this book is the policy discussion aimed at solving racial disparities in the criminal justice system. By emphasizing the historic role of racial injustice in the criminal justice system as a means of furthering black disadvantage, Tonry presents a convincing argument that the best strategy to alleviate continued injustice is through activism.
The thrust of Tonry’s call to action is that we should focus on reducing the minority prison population. He lays out several strategies to achieve this goal. First is drug prevention and treatment in the place of the ‘war on drugs’ enforcement approach. Second, he suggests that although Obama’s Justice Department has drastically reduced federal sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine, there is still significant work to be done in the federal system, and within states, to reduce such sentencing disparities. Third, he argues that we need to mitigate racial bias in policing and among prosecutors and judges through innovative research and education. Finally, he recommends that we minimize the effects of prior sentencing by ending mandatory sentencing schemes, and returning more sentencing discretion to judges.
Some academics may find Punishing Race: A Continuing American Dilemma wanting in connections to broader theoretical debates. However, general public audiences, especially community organizers and activists, will find this is an excellent treatise of scholarly activism, providing sufficient hyperbole for inspiration, tempered by solid informative research.