The Expanding Prison

Cayley doubts that prisons are instruments of correction. Like all institutions they grow to a size which frustrates their original intention. To illustrate this he cites national (Canadian) and international examples of how prisons currently work. Cayley understands justice as peace making and incorporates into his arguments insights from critical thinkers whose notions are significant to prison reform. We are social beings prior to understanding ourselves as individuals, he notes, and suggests that a moral understanding of good and evil is necessary to obtain justice. He writes (p. 85) that "In a world without good, evil is secularized as crime." and "Justice without a sense of the good is darkened." Cayley offers excellent historical insights into the relationship between prison rehabilitation and Christianity that have implications for the future direction of the treatment of prisoners. The notion of 'truth as relational' (p. 323), which he attributes to Martin Buber, reveals a phenomenological understanding of justice. This understanding contrasts with the classical ideas of Aristotle and Aquinas which currently underpin concepts of justice. Anyone interested in the alternatives available for prison reform or the religious and pastoral care in prisons will find a wealth of information in Cayley's book.

Cayley doubts that prisons are instruments of correction. Like all institutions they grow to a size which frustrates their original intention. To illustrate this he cites national (Canadian) and international examples of how prisons currently work. Cayley understands justice as peace making and incorporates into his arguments insights from critical thinkers whose notions are significant to prison reform. We are social beings prior to understanding ourselves as individuals, he notes, and suggests that a moral understanding of good and evil is necessary to obtain justice. He writes (p. 85) that "In a world without good, evil is secularized as crime." and "Justice without a sense of the good is darkened." Cayley offers excellent historical insights into the relationship between prison rehabilitation and Christianity that have implications for the future direction of the treatment of prisoners. The notion of 'truth as relational' (p. 323), which he attributes to Martin Buber, reveals a phenomenological understanding of justice. This understanding contrasts with the classical ideas of Aristotle and Aquinas which currently underpin concepts of justice. Anyone interested in the alternatives available for prison reform or the religious and pastoral care in prisons will find a wealth of information in Cayley's book.

Comprehensive book based on numerous interviews and extensive research. The author provides a very persuasive argument for penal reduction and explains how and why the rate of imprisonment in the West continues to grow steadily while crime rates are in fact decreasing. He also presents an good overview of alternatives to incarceration that have proven success (in direct contrast to the proven failure of imprisonment). I highly recommend this book.