William R. Kelly, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Sociology and director of the Center for Criminology and Criminal Justice Research at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas. He is also a fellow with the Darrell K. Royal Regents Chair in Ethics and American Society, University of Texas at Austin. Kelly is the author and contributor of several books and articles on criminal justice, law, and policy, including Criminal Justice At The Crossroads: Transforming Crime and Punishment (2015) and Justice Under Pressure: Prison Crowding, Parole Release and Recidivism in Texas (1993).

Sociology professor Kelly provides a well-reasoned, if familiar, critique of the American criminal justice system, along with thoughtful prescriptions for revolutionary reform. Despite the trillions the U.S. has spent over the last four decades on criminal justice and the war on drugs, crime has not been significantly reduced. For Kelly, that failure is inextricably linked with the system’s focus on punishment, which often includes incarceration, as a response to criminal behavior. Such policies ignore many reasons for criminality, including substance abuse, mental illness, and poor education, and Kelly is persuasive in describing how 'behavior change interventions... can reduce crime, recidivism, victimization, and cost.' His balanced approach, which includes an understanding of the historical and societal forces that led to the Nixon-era War on Crime and its successor.

• Introduction1. American Criminal Justice: The Punishment is the Crime2. The High Cost of Failure3. Why People Commit Crime and What We Can Do About It4. Diversion from Traditional Criminal Prosecution and Punishment5. Changing Prosecution And Sentencing6. Rethinking Punishment7. Drugs, Guns and Gangs8. Juvenile Justice: The Critical Opportunity9. Conclusions

William R. Kelly, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Sociology and director of the Center for Criminology and Criminal Justice Research at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas. He is also a fellow with the Darrell K. Royal Regents Chair in Ethics and American Society, University of Texas at Austin. Kelly is the author and contributor of several books and articles on criminal justice, law, and policy, including Criminal Justice At The Crossroads: Transforming Crime and Punishment (2015) and Justice Under Pressure: Prison Crowding, Parole Release and Recidivism in Texas (1993).

Sociology professor Kelly provides a well-reasoned, if familiar, critique of the American criminal justice system, along with thoughtful prescriptions for revolutionary reform. Despite the trillions the U.S. has spent over the last four decades on criminal justice and the war on drugs, crime has not been significantly reduced. For Kelly, that failure is inextricably linked with the system’s focus on punishment, which often includes incarceration, as a response to criminal behavior. Such policies ignore many reasons for criminality, including substance abuse, mental illness, and poor education, and Kelly is persuasive in describing how 'behavior change interventions... can reduce crime, recidivism, victimization, and cost.' His balanced approach, which includes an understanding of the historical and societal forces that led to the Nixon-era War on Crime and its successor.

• Introduction1. American Criminal Justice: The Punishment is the Crime2. The High Cost of Failure3. Why People Commit Crime and What We Can Do About It4. Diversion from Traditional Criminal Prosecution and Punishment5. Changing Prosecution And Sentencing6. Rethinking Punishment7. Drugs, Guns and Gangs8. Juvenile Justice: The Critical Opportunity9. Conclusions

William R. Kelly, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Sociology and director of the Center for Criminology and Criminal Justice Research at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas. He is also a fellow with the Darrell K. Royal Regents Chair in Ethics and American Society, University of Texas at Austin. Kelly is the author and contributor of several books and articles on criminal justice, law, and policy, including Criminal Justice At The Crossroads: Transforming Crime and Punishment (2015) and Justice Under Pressure: Prison Crowding, Parole Release and Recidivism in Texas (1993).

Sociology professor Kelly provides a well-reasoned, if familiar, critique of the American criminal justice system, along with thoughtful prescriptions for revolutionary reform. Despite the trillions the U.S. has spent over the last four decades on criminal justice and the war on drugs, crime has not been significantly reduced. For Kelly, that failure is inextricably linked with the system’s focus on punishment, which often includes incarceration, as a response to criminal behavior. Such policies ignore many reasons for criminality, including substance abuse, mental illness, and poor education, and Kelly is persuasive in describing how 'behavior change interventions... can reduce crime, recidivism, victimization, and cost.' His balanced approach, which includes an understanding of the historical and societal forces that led to the Nixon-era War on Crime and its successor.

• Introduction1. American Criminal Justice: The Punishment is the Crime2. The High Cost of Failure3. Why People Commit Crime and What We Can Do About It4. Diversion from Traditional Criminal Prosecution and Punishment5. Changing Prosecution And Sentencing6. Rethinking Punishment7. Drugs, Guns and Gangs8. Juvenile Justice: The Critical Opportunity9. Conclusions