Charged: Overzealous Prosecutors, the Quest for Mercy, and the Fight to Transform Criminal Justice in America
Who Would Like This Book:
This is a must-read for anyone curious about the messy realities of the American criminal justice system - or for those who think they already know how it works. Emily Bazelon brings lawyerly expertise and journalistic clarity to an urgent and eye-opening exploration of how prosecutors shape outcomes for individuals and communities, often with life-altering consequences. With gripping storytelling centered on two real-life cases, Bazelon deftly unpacks legal issues like plea bargaining, bail, and prosecutorial discretion, while offering glimmers of hope through profiles of reformers. Fans of socially conscious non-fiction, students of law, and true crime junkies looking for a deeper systemic perspective will be hooked.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found the book’s narrative structure a bit fragmented, with background tangents and legal analysis sometimes disrupting the flow of the main stories. If you’re looking for a tight, novel-like narrative or expect a completely objective take, Bazelon’s activist stance and focus on reform may not be for you. Also, those wanting purely policy solutions or wider statistical overviews (rather than personalized case studies) might find the spotlight on just two main stories limiting.
About:
'Charged: Overzealous Prosecutors, the Quest for Mercy, and the Fight to Transform Criminal Justice in America' by author Emily Bazelon is a thought-provoking exploration of the flaws and intricacies of the American criminal justice system. Bazelon uses two separate cases to illustrate the broader theme of criminal justice reform, focusing on the significant role of prosecutors. Through personal stories and legal analysis, she sheds light on issues such as mass incarceration, plea bargaining, and the power dynamics within the legal system. The book delves into the impact of prosecutorial decisions on individuals' lives and the urgent need for change within the system.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include discussions of racial discrimination, mass incarceration issues, references to wrongful convictions, and judicial misconduct, which may be distressing to some readers.
From The Publisher:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A renowned journalist and legal commentator exposes the unchecked power of the prosecutor as a driving force in America's mass incarceration crisis-and charts a way out.
"An important, thoughtful, and thorough examination of criminal justice in America that speaks directly to how we reduce mass incarceration."-Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy
"This harrowing, often enraging book is a hopeful one, as well, profiling innovative new approaches and the frontline advocates who champion them."-Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted
FINALIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE J. ANTHONY LUKAS BOOK PRIZE
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR
The New York Public Library
Library Journal
Publishers Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
The American criminal justice system is supposed to be a contest between two equal adversaries, the prosecution and the defense, with judges ensuring a fair fight. That image of the law does not match the reality in the courtroom, however. Much of the time, it is prosecutors more than judges who control the outcome of a case, from choosing the charge to setting bail to determining the plea bargain. They often decide who goes free and who goes to prison, even who lives and who dies. In Charged, Emily Bazelon reveals how this kind of unchecked power is the underreported cause of enormous injustice-and the missing piece in the mass incarceration puzzle.
Charged follows the story of two young people caught up in the criminal justice system: Kevin, a twenty-year-old in Brooklyn who picked up his friend's gun as the cops burst in and was charged with a serious violent felony, and Noura, a teenage girl in Memphis indicted for the murder of her mother. Bazelon tracks both cases-from arrest and charging to trial and sentencing-and, with her trademark blend of deeply reported narrative, legal analysis, and investigative journalism, illustrates just how criminal prosecutions can go wrong and, more important, why they don't have to.
Bazelon also details the second chances they prosecutors can extend, if they choose, to Kevin and Noura and so many others. She follows a wave of reform-minded D.A.s who have been elected in some of our biggest cities, as well as in rural areas in every region of the country, put in office to do nothing less than reinvent how their job is done. If they succeed, they can point the country toward a different and profoundly better future.
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