140 PART VII DEVIANCE AND CRJME

DtscusstoN QUEsTroNs :. :hc srnr:.-::,

.iieir-nurnL-..
1. Alcol-rolisnr is :ur eranrple of a clevirrnt bchavior bcing rnedicalizecl. Hou. has :.J acr )f h-_1,., _

this rltered dre urrdelstarrdirrg rrrrd rlertnrent oielcol'rolisrn? Ifon. does the [rt reccrtr
inr..o1r'enrerlr of hea]th ploii:ssiorrals rr dle rl'r-arnrcnr ol-a-lcohoJisrrr rnlhlence ;rsNeu. yor.k
sor:rctal reacriorr to c-rccssire dnrrking: suspect. No ol
2. Somc arguc th:rt rlpists shor,rlcl be castrated. Hou, cloes this illustrate the grll:lter alrcl gr,
tl:rnsionnltion of nnilerstanrling r:rpc irs il mo\.c "fi-orn b:rdness to sickness"? u,ill er.entu;rll.
Wh:rt lssr-unptions gr-ric1c- r1-re ';r-rqqestioll thrt rapists shotrlcl be c:rstrated as:i shalJpoint our
\\ :l\ (,l .161,1,i1 1- ;-;11,.': lrlolrey fbr rrc,,
liberties, and i
that these co,r
Thr_rs, u.hor I
20 to elirninatc o,-
criniinals in oLr
not touch otl
atrout cr-inrin.rl
Nearlr, 3rr
The Rich Get Richer and
,

losoph,r, oi pul
urorktnc in the
the Poor Get Prison housc- counseio
for leeal punishr
]EFFREY H, REIMAN of out correctit,
inconsistencics .
cr:ssecl the arbitl
traliness rvith u.l
7li-t to r.'iuu tltt: crirttittal .jrrstitc s1ts7,1,rr -7,'r,,,, d radically
c-i-vrj, clullcn,qt's ft'ttdcrs and the dcprir-.r,
difiircnt arryqlc. Spedfically, Jtllity Rcirrt,ur tll'qtr! tltat tltc ttrrtttittrt.. s)'\rcil dtld phvsical r.iolerrc,
ltrtttdtr tritnirtal -jrLstict politl, itt tlrc L.irtitt'd Srarc-' -rlrr4.r11, ltrouidt: tlrc ilhriott o.f n'ithrn prison rr
.llq/irilq Lrirnc. Lt rtalit1,, hc ttrqtrcs, crirtrinitl .iLrsritc ltolicics re inlirct prrblic -fiars ofthe "ex-con"
rrf-t'rinrc-t torrnrtitttd bl, tltc poor. Tlrcsc ltolitic:, itt ttrrrr,lttlp to ttrttitttt.tirt,t her "debt to soc
" c ri r u itt al r 1,r-r-i " rr/' ri i-i,zri t, a t t t a,gc d 1t
t: o 1t I c . for thc ex-pr-ison
ct\- thrr buiicls pr
/\ crinrinrl .jLriticc \\'sten1 is rr rnirror in s,hich :r s.hole societv call see the cl:rr- one that cloes DLr
/4k.. or.rtlinr. of it: i:rce. Or-rr iclcas oijustice rrncl evil take on visible tonrr in feattrres tllat gu.l.
it. and thus rr,e see onrscivcs in deep reliet'. Step through thrs lookirrg glass to alurnni. Horv crr
vies. the Anreric:rn criminal jr-rstrce systenr :rncl r-rltirnatelv the u,holc society it rlor an inrpoveri:J
reflects-fionr l raclicallv ditlcrcnt argle of vision. spend or_rr 1'r:rrd_c.
In particular. entcrt:rin the idea thlt the goal of our criluinal justice s\'\tclr is Tou,arcl thc .
lrot to clinrirratc cr:inrc ol to :rchier.e jr,rstice, 1116 yp proitt to tlrc Anrcrirutt pr.Lblic it of designine a cri;
rlsible iruage ol'tltc tlu'cttt o-f trirnc crs tt tltrt'at-ti'out tlLr' ltrror. To rlo this, t1-re justice svster)r one tlirt vr.oulcl n
must present us s-ith a sizable popr.rhtion oipoor climinals. To do that, it nrnst fail look likc-? The r.c.
emcrged in our rli

SOUl{C.l:: RLI\,iAN..lLFFl{L\'. IHL 1{l(-ll (;IT lll(lllEir. ANL) TIIE P()()1{

t;F-l l,lllS(l\. Sflr. !- l1l1ll. Prirrrrrl br prrri.'ion ofI'crlon Iduc,rtion. Inc.. First It u,oulcl L.
Uppcr S,Lrl.1le l\ir cr. \ru -Jencr. rion, and ganrblir
 ARTICLE 2O THE RICH GET RICI]ER AND THE POOR GEI PT]5O\
141

lll thc struqgle to elinlinate the crirnes that poor people conlnit. or e\.elr
16 reclnce
rheir nr-tnlber drarlraticirllr.. Clritlc ,,.r-. ,,1- corlrse. occ:rsion:rlh, declinc.
as it has
l,trr l,rt.l, l), 1,,;,tti.t ,,l'l,t;r,,r; ,,r1,,.r ,1, ,, ,,i,,,i,,,,t,,,,,r:, ,...
'r\'r',rl\- i,.,),.,1r,
Itl recctrt veills. \\'e 1llrr-c' c1-uclruplecl our prison popLrl,ttion arr.-l. 1r citic.s
such
-rs Ne$, York, :rllos.ecl the policc ncn. tr-ectlon, ,,r'r,,r1,
:rnd sc;rrch pe-ople thev
illspect. No one can delr. thrt ii1,or-r lock trp enotrgh people. .rlc1
allos tlic police
gl'eater alld qreatcr power to itrtcrGre u'ith t1-rc
litrernr rrr.l privacy ot-citizels. r-.r-r
Ni11 cvelrtualll' prevettt some cnnrc tl-r:rt nright othclr-s.ise
haye takerr p1.,...... t
sha11 poillt otlt-just hol.'costlt'artrl inet'iiciernt
this nrc,rns of recllrcipq cnrrre rs. irr
11lo11eY fbr llc-u'prisolls. irt its ilestructive cttbct
on irurer-crn. litb, in rcclLrcecl ci'il
liberties.;rtrd irr itrcre;rsed conrpl:rirrts of police brLrtalin.. I.1o,r't
cienr.. hou.evcr.
rlt.tr rltc..'t.rtlr n)c.r)r J,,,,,rttrihrrt..iri.,,,rir, ;t,t,tll,tj,,,/(/i/i Ir\,.,],,,i,,S.,.i,,,..
Thus, rvhen I sar- ... thar o-inrinal jLrstice po[cr, is tirilirrg. I lrc:rn
thet it is tiilire
to eli,in;rtc otlr higli (1itltc r.ltcs. Wc corrrinue to sc-e il larqe populatior
of p.or
critlirills ill ortr prisotrs atttl our coLlrts. lhilc our crinrt rccltrctiol str.rtcgres
cio
Irot touch oll the social causes oi critle. Nlor'.or-cr. oul citizers r-enr;rin
iclrlirl
rbor,rt cr-irri,al
'icti,rizatior. e\-e1l rrftc-r thc recc,t ticcii,cs....
Nearl,v 3() r"ears agtl. I t:rr-rqht a sellriilal tbr gftrdu:tre studc|ts
titicc] "The [)hi-
losophv of Pulrishnrettt ltrd llehlbiLtatron." Nl:rnr- oi the stucients
\\'ere ulrc-rrclr.
'r,,t'kittgirr tlrcllcl,l ot (oi'r.cLrioni.r. l.t.,,h.rli(,rr.1ii...r.. I,ri.ul{u.,r.(1..,,,. Ir 1r,,,,,
ho.se c'ourselors. Togethc. ,.'. .,.,,rrrirrecl trre- r-:rr-ior-r, p1rrro,.rphr..r
,,-,r,;,i:.,;i:r,,,
rbr lccal putrishnretrt. ancl lltctr s'e tlirectecl orlr;ttrelltiolt ro thc
lctnrj trutcrio,i,g
tliottr correrctiotral svstettt. For nruch ot-the sr.nresto. rr.c- talkecl rbout rhc nrr.rircl
illcollsistcncic's atrd crttelties and thr' ovcrlll irr':rtion:rlin- oi rhc
sr-stcrrr. \\-. ,ii.,-
ir-rsse'l the arbitrrritless u,ith r,r'hich ottcndcrs ale sentc-ncccl
to plison ,rritl thc :rr.bi-
trariltess $'ith u'liich thev are- trcatec'l oncc rhr-re. Wc Lii:cussed
the 1.rck oiprir,:rcr.
'rnc'l the depriYrrtiol'r of sotuct's oi pr-r'soru1 irlcntin' enri ciqnrn-. thc- eyer-presert
ph,vsical Yiolc'nct'. as rr.el1 :rs thc hck of rncanrnqti,l ..rr,,lseii,re
or.-job u.i,rr,,s
rvithin prison n':rlls. 'We clisci-rss.-il the h:rrrrssrnent oi paroir-er. ihc ur..scap:ibi1n,
of the "ex-ccltr'' stiqtl:i, the rctirsll of socictr- ro 1r.t rr persor) firrish
p.l.irg his or
llcr"''lt'hr t. s'rqi1n.".ttrri r]tt ,rl'.cr),c,,t'rr..,rringlirl nurr.i'irrirr.,l ,,11,,,r-trrrtiri...
tbr the c-x-prisotler. 'We coltfi-ontec'l tinrc rncl:rqrirr rhc- balci irration:rlitr-of'.r
soci-
e$' that builcls plisons to prc\ielrr crirrre knou-irrq tlijl u'ell rh.rt
ther. clo nor. :urcl
ttt-re that ckrcs rrot seliouslr. tn. to r:id its prisor,.1r.1
1.,,rtr-clc.r\c pr.rrtice_\ of those
teaturcs th:lt qualatrtec' a high ratc oi trtillt,isut, the r.etnr-ri
ro cr.inrc br plrso,
altlttrtri' Ho$' could u-e [ri] so nriscrablr'? We llc ncithe.r:rn er-il
1ro1.11 str-lpid
llor alt tnrpovc'rishecl pcoplc. Htru- trruLl u-u cotrtinuc to bencj oLrr
cncrgrcr rncl
spercl our harcl-e:irrecl tax rlollers o1r c.rL-s *.c k,o*- :1re
,ot u,orkireT
To$'ard the c,cl .f thc setrtcster. I:rskc'ci thc rir-rclerrrs to unrrqirre
16.,t. i;rr..,.1
of designi,e a crinrirr;rl jtriticc \\'\rcrt tu r.utirluc rrcl pler-e.,t .rir-tre.
..-.. tlesiqrcd
ollc tliat ['ott]ci tllaitttrirt ri st:rble rrd visible ''class" of crinrin.rls.
What rr..r-rkl it
look like? The,espctrsc *-.rs clccrr:ifr.irg. H..c. rs:r s:rr.iplc
of-the proposals rl-r:rt
cnrcrgcd in our: rliscussion.

First It rvoLrlc'l be helptirl ro irrrr-e las.s on the books :rgainst dr-rrg u:c-.
ptosritu
tion. ancl sanrblins-la\\,s rhar pr.ohibir :rcts rlt,rr lr.'r. rro rrr\\ illinq
r i, rirr.
142 PART VI I DEVIANCE AND CRIME

This lr,orild rnake many people "cr-inriruls" for what they regard as nonnal policv to protecl
behavior ancl u,ould increase their need to engage tn sccortddrl, rrirrle (the drug tenr functions in
addict's need to steal to pay for drugs, the prostitr-1te's need for a pir-np because conviction. Inde
police protection is uttavail:rble, and so otr). system concentr
exclude or deen
Second It lr,ould be good to sive police, prosecutors, and/or judges broad who are rvell otl
discretion to decide rvho got arrested, rvho qot ch:.rrged, and rvho got sentellced In sum, I s-
to prison. This r,r,ould mean that almost anyone l.ho got as far as plison rvould tuhile making ir lo
knou, of others rvho corlrnitted the same crirne but were not arrested, were not the real danger-
charged, or wer-e not senlenced to prison. This rvould assure us that a good por- rather than fto1r
tion of the prison popr-11atior1 srould expenence their: confinerlent as arbitrary the status quo \\-
and unjr,rst th.rt respond rvith rage. r.vhich rvor.rld rnake them more antisocial, sen'es the interc
"rrd
rather ilran respond s,ith rernorse, r,r,hich rvould make them feel more bourld by could change cri
social nomrs. Therefore . i
"tlrrough the 1oo
Third The prison expenence shor-r1d be not only painfr-r1 but also demeaning. expectations. R-
The pain of loss of liberty might deter future crime. But demeaning and enrascu- notion that the sr

lating prisoners by placing thern in an enforced childhood charactedzecl by no pri- other: hand. the i
,.".1, ,r-rd no control over their tir-ne and ;1ctions,as well as by the constant threat of reality. Mv argur
rape or assar-r1t, is sure to overconle any deterrent effect b1' rveakerung u'hatever tains a pdrtia.rlttr ii,
capacities a prisoner had for selt-control. Indeed, by hunriliatrng and brutalizing this image to be i
prisoner:, we Lran be sure to increase their potential Ibr aggessive rtiolence. actually fig1'rt cnr
getting out of h:.;
Fourth Prisoners should neither be trained in :r rlarketable skill nor provided in the public's lr,
ivith a job afrer release. Their prison records should stand as :r perpetual stign-ia to I call this r...
discour:age e111p1oyers trom hiring then'r. Otherwise, they rnight be telnpted rol drrfral theon'. A
to return to cnnle after release. in troops and u'.
argues that the t,i
Fifth Ex-otTenders' sense that they u''i11 ah'va1's be difi-erent fron'r "decent citi* in positions oi p.r
zens," thar they can never fina11y settle their debt to sociery, should be reinforced The PvrCric
by the fo11or'r'ing meilns. Thel' 5[6"1;1 be deprived ior the rest of their lives of vide an explanari.
rights, such as rhe right ro vote. They 5[6s1;1 be harassed by police as "likely sr-rs- anyone-anyon-
pects" and be sub.lect to the rvhims of parole oficers rvho can at any ti1l1e threaten reduce crinre sub,
io serrd tl.renr back to prison for things no ordinarv citizens could be arlested for, people, a ltless.tg.
such as going or-rt of toum" or drinking, or fi-aternizing rvith the "r,vrong people." societv by legitu::
privilege, and br
Ald so on. and porver{l'rl arr.i
In to design a system that r,vottld niaintain and encourage
shor-t, r,vhen asked To provide ri
the existence of a stable and visible "c1ass of criminais," rve "consttrtcted" the that the f.iilure of
Amer-ican criminal justice sYsten1.. .. rltt: jght a<tainst tnt
... [T]he practices of the crimir-ra1 justice svstelr keep before the public the sLtcie4t 6yg the tt,ork
. r.ea1 threat of crirne and the distorted irnage that crime is pnrnarily the rvork of the and bv rvhat it lel
poor. The vah,re of this to tllose in positions qf potuer is th:rt it deflects the discontent 1:rbel and trear ;1s
and potential hostrlitv of Middle America ar'vay h-om the classes above them and or lnore damage r
tor,vard the classes be1ou, them. If this explanation is hard to srva1low, it shor-rld .rctstreated as clirl
be noted in its favor that it not onl.v explains the dismal farlr-rre of criminal justice \\-ay that guaranta
 ARTICLE 2O THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE POOR GET PRISON
143

''rolicv to protect us against crirne br-rt also explains

r,vhy the crinrinal justice sys-
te.rl fttnctions irl I utav tirat is biased against tlie poor at even/
stage fi-orn arrest to
il conviction. Incleed, even at an e:rrlier stage, u,hen crimes a.e
d.-ined in lau,, the
s)'steln concentrates pri,ranll, o11 the preclaton, acts of the
poor and tends to
exclr-rdc or- deernphasize the equallv orl rrr.r,,.- clangerous
p...1nto* acts of those
rvho are lvell off
Irr sum, I r.vill argue ti-rat /lic crinittdl
.it.rstit:e systetn.ih,l\ in tlrc -fi.qlt rt!(littst crinle
rt'ltilt tttakitt.lil /,r,,('a.r rJrrittt, i: r/r, rilrl,,/,/i,
7,,,,,,. f|i.,.._,rrr.rrilr. rrrr,,g. tlr.rt
the real danger- to dccenr, l.rs -:rbrcling Arr.ri..r,,, conres li.onr
belorv them,
|rther than froln above thenr. on the econornic laclder:. This
irnagc. sanctifies
rhe sratus qr-ro rvith its dispanties of u,ealth. p.vilege,
and opportunitv. a'd thus
\elv-es the interests of t1-re rich ancl pourerful in
Americaj,j,. .,",.., ores *4ro
coulcl cha,qe cri,rirrrl j,stice poric.v if thev r:r.ere realh-
r_rnhapp,v rvith it.
T]-rerefore, it sec,rs app,opr-iatc ro ask
voll to iook'at'cr,rinar jr-rstice
''tirrorrgh the lookitig
glass." On the ore hand. ihis srlgsests a rever.s:rl
of cor,r,on
expect:rtions' Reverse Yollr expect:ltions about crir'niriai
llrstrce :r1d e1tefiai, tht-
llotion that the s\-stcln's goal is tire ver-r- reverse of its:rnnouncecl goal.
other ha,cl, tire figtrre of1e11
o, tl,rc
thc rook,rg g1r* srlggesrs the prcr-alerce of irn:rge over
Ie'alitr-' MY argulnent is that tlr" rvrt"rr-, functions
the s'ar- it doc-s LtccttLt-*c it rttrrirt-
''.tirr:,r1t,1v1i611larittr.r.qc',f,.rittt,:_rrt, ittt,r,1, trt.ttiri; r,rtr,.trtj.,,tjtt,i;,;;,,, L)icu.ric.tirr
this irnagc to be belic'rrable , there ninst be a realin,
to back it .rp. rir" s\-sre, lr.1st
actuallv fight critDe-or :rt L'ast sonre crinre-br-rt
onlv enou'qh to kc-ep it fror,
qetting out of har-rd and to keep the str-ugg1e
against crinre r,ivic1lr.:rncl drauraticall'
rn tl're'pr-rblic's vie*', ne\rer ellorlgh to r.rbrt.riiallr.
reducc- o..ti,,rir,.,.-.;;;;r".*'
.- I call this otrtrage.ous \\iav ot rookrne at cri,ri,al jr-rstice poric' the pl,nrtic
theory. A "Pvrr'hic rricton-" is a
,/clirr:il
r-icton, purcliasecl at sllch a cost
in troops atld treasure th.it il .urounts'rilrtarv
to -i clefeat. Tl're pr.rrhic clefe:rt tl]c.on,
rrgr-res that the ftilure of the crinrinal justice \\-srrn
f.icl.1, srich Lr.,r.ll,.;tl;;;;
ur positions of pos,-er that it arnourrt, 1.r rr.r...rr....
The Pvr-rhic cletbar t1-reoq.' h:rs ser.er:rl conlpolrelrts. Abo'e
:rJ1. rt ,rtrst pr.o_
Yide an explanatiorl o{ liL'tt' the failr-rr-e ro recluce
cdnre substantiall-v cor:lcl be,efit
:lrlyone-:rnyone other: th;rn cr:in-Lir-ra1s. that is.... I argue
tl-rerc that the iail.re to
Ieducc' cr-inre subst:rrti:rlir,, broaclcasts a potent
ideoto.qir:.ntluess:1qc to the Auterican
peoplc', :l lnessage that benefits ,,,r,r p.otects the
porl,erlr-rl .rri p-,.i"i1.gecr in our
socie.rl'b,v legitillratrng iirc prc\c1rt social order \itl-r
its disp.,rritres of \,ealth irncl
privilege, arrd bv divelririg pr-rblic criscorltent and
opp.sitiorr fi:or' trre nch
,rnd pou'erful and onto the poor and pos-er1ess. ^r,ar,
To provide this be-nctlt, horvever:, not just anr.flrilur-e s,ili
cio. It rs,ecessa^.
th:rt the fail,re of thc'cri,rirarjLrstice r..rr.,i, takc-
tlrc
a p..,articLrr,,,-rn.f". ir;,;,;;;;;i;;,
-fiqlt t|ltile *dkitry lr looi as if'scriotrs t:rirttt, arrd tlrtrs tlte real
agtrirtst crirrrt:
darqqer ro
sotie\' art: tlte uork ttf'tltt
1,,,r.1., Titc s\-:tent rccoltplishes thrs both br. *.hat rt does
'urtl bV rVh'rt rt |r'rir'cs ro tr..... r .r|grrc rlr.rr rh.'a,'r,,,i,,.,r ,,,.,i..'.r1.,.,r
r.t,t-rr.cr rtr
label ancl tre;rt as cr-inre:r r,r.q. rr,rrrrb.r of :rcts
of the nch that pr.ocluce:rs,ruch
or rno.e dar,:ige to lite anci ri.rb as the cr-,rres of the
poor-... 1i1r"r, arlong thc.
acts treatecl as critnes. the crinrinal jtrstice
u-ay that guarantLres thrt.
s\.stelr1 rs biase-cl tr-onr st:rrt to firish i, a
-ioi rlrc :,ttttt iririr,.r, mernbers of thr- Io*-er classcs are
PART VII DEVIANCE AND CRIME

lr1r.1chlrorc 1ikel.v than menrbers of the rniclclle;rncl r-rpper classcs to be arrested,

convicted. and imprrisorrcd-thus provicling livrnq "ploof' that cr-imc- is a tl'rreat Applyi
fronr thc poor. . ..
Or-rr crinrinal justice s,vstenr rs ch:rracterized by Lreheti about u.hat is criniinal, A
rind beliefs abor-rt horv to cleal n.ith crin're. th;rt preLhte inc'lr-rstrial socierv. Rather
than bcirig anvonc's conscior.rs plan. the s.vstenl reflects .lttitudes so deepl-v Ilecourc a nonn
embeddecl in tr:rdition ils to rlppear natural. To understancl rv1-r,v it persists even
i
out in public ,tn.l .

thor:gh it fiils to p1'otect us. all that is nccess:rl is to recognize that, on the one
hand. those rl,'ho are thc urost victinrizecl b.v cnnre are not thosc in positions to von stop cloi|g .,,:t
make and lnplemc-nt policr,'. Crinre 1ills more frecluentlv lnd nrore harshl-v on eo :rguinst s-hrr ,
the poor t1-rrn on the better off. On thc otl.rcr hand, there are enouqh benefits to tl-rought ebortr .jL l
the rvealthv lrom the identification oi crinre u,ith the poor and the sr.stem's irrg? Notice hor,,
trilure to lecluce cdnre th;rt thosc u,ith the pos-er to nrake profor-rnd changes in
the systern feel no cornpnlsion lror- scL' lrrr- incentir-c tr) lnJkc' thcm. In short, the
crinrinll justic.- systcnl crrrre irto eristence in:rn eariier epoch and persists in the
preselrt ber::ruse. even tilouqh it is lailing-indeed. because oithe rva,v it fails it
qelrerutes no etTectrve rlenranc1 tbr changc. When I speak of the criminal justice
s\jste1t1 :ts "designed to lhil." I nrean no lrlore thrn thrs. I call this explanation of
the existence :rncl pcr:sistr-r'rcc of onr failing cnnlnJ justicc systenl the historiral
iricrria exphnatioll. . ..

KEY CONCEPTS
l;rbeliug theonr social cl:iss soci:rl institution

DlscusstoN QUEsrroNs
1. Whrt rloes l{einran nrean in rlqr-rinq that the currelrt crinrin:rl jtrsticc s\-stcnl
u,orks to mrrint:rin a cl:rss oi crinrinals? I)o vor.r :1qree or clisagree that our
corrcctions s\rstelr fiuls to r:ehabrlitate and 1:uls to deter crirne?
If voLr hacl the porvel to ch:rnge the correctiolrs svste111 in the United States,
srhrt chrnges s,or.rld vou nr;rke to help reduce ancl prerrent crinre?