The Origins of the Criminal Justice System: Historical Explorations by the Justice-Involved

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The Origins of the Criminal Justice System: Historical Explorations by the Justice-Involved provides an introduction to the historical roots of modern-day Western systems of justice. The text addresses different aspects of criminal justice, including chapters on police, courts, corrections, and trends in crime and punishment, as well as chapters that examine the relationship between justice practices and select communities defined by gender, age, class, and race. Each chapter begins in Ancient Antiquity before progressing to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment, and concluding in the Modern Era. Readers are introduced to the social and political factors evident at the time, the structure and function of each era-specific system, and the execution and consequences of early policies and procedures. The book provides an important and detailed examination of the evolution of justice practices, tying these temporal threads to modern systems, and offers the readership the opportunity to observe institutions across the millennia. Whether it is jury trials in Ancient Greece or ordeals in the Dark Ages, the reader is invited to traverse the world of criminal justice practices, replete with eras of inspiration as well as intolerance and cruelty.

Reviews

What a welcome addition to punishment history. Readers follow across time the forces and inclinations that shape social control, but with an important twisteach era is observed by writers currently experiencing the brute force of contemporary corrections. I highly recommend reading this history book with an eye to the future; if we are to reimagine a humane and effective system, it is essential that we understand its complex past. -- Joshua C. Cochran, University of Cincinnati, co-author of The Fundamentals of Criminological and Criminal Justice Inquiry and Prisoner Reentry in the Era of Mass Incarceration
An intriguing direction in historical criminology. The author brings the perspective of convict criminology to the history of criminal justice. -- Paul Knepper, San Jos State University and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of the History of Crime and Criminal Justice

Author Bio

About the Editor
Omi Hodwitz, PhD, is a criminologist and associate professor in the Department of Culture, Society, and Justice at the University of Idaho. Her specialties include theoretical applications, research methods, and terrorism studies. Dr. Hodwitz spends most of her time in Idaho prisons, learning from her incarcerated students.
Contributors
Amara Bailey, Jazlin Branting, D. Alex Cowan, Rachel Galli, Stace L. Grove, Omi Hodwitz, Pony L. Jackson, Willian Jansen, Steff King, Grace Meyer, Silas B. Parks, Josh Ritchie, Trip Finity Taylor, Carson Thiel, Madison Wolf