Garrick L. Percival – författare

The most punitive era in American history reached its apex in the 1990s, but the trend has reversed in recent years. Smart on Crime: The Struggle to Build a Better American Penal System examines the factors causing this dramatic turnaround. It relates and echoes the increasing need and desire on the part of actors in the American government system to construct a penal system that is more rational and humane.Author Garrick L. Percival points out that the prison boom did not naturally emerge as a governmental response to increasing crime rates. Instead, political forces actively built and shaped the growth of a more aggressive and populated penal system. He is optimistic that the shifting political forces surrounding crime and punishment can now reform the system, explaining how current political actors can craft more constructive and just policies and programs. The book shows how rationality and humanitarianism lead to a penal system that imprisons fewer people, does less harm to the lives of individual offenders and those close to them, and is less expensive to maintain.The book presents empirical data to concretely demonstrate what is working and what is not in today’s penal system. It closely examines policies and practices in Texas, Ohio, and California as comparative illustrations on what progress has been made or needs to be made in penal systems across the United States. The book includes a comprehensive discussion of highlighted issues, and relates more than two dozen interviews with pivotal political actors who clarify why there is a major shift underway in the American penal system. Their insights reveal paths that can be taken to improve the current penal system.

California went through a political earthquake of sorts when the state recalled Governor Gray Davis in 2003. In 2021, the state faced another political turning point with the threatened recall of Governor Gavin Newsom. Less than two years after Newsom’s overwhelming election victory, more than two million Californians signed on to the recall effort, hoping to expel him from office in a special election. How could such a monumental turnabout be possible? Normally, the political headwinds would be much too strong for a movement to oust a governor who had decisively vanquished his opponent. But--with the COVID-19 pandemic dominating every aspect of society, including politics--these weren’t normal times. Organizing a recall election is a demanding enterprise: it takes abundant political energy, tremendous amounts of anger with the status quo, and mounds of money. Yet, for the second time in less than two decades, such wheels were set in motion. What is it that makes California so dynamic yet so fragile? This book explains that paradox and, in the process, enlightens readers about the recall process, the challenges of federalism, and the pitfalls of direct democracy. It examines the underlying conditions that expose a state with poorly linked institutions, a bitterly divided society, and a governor who had to act under nearly impossible conditions, demonstrating his strengths and vulnerabilities along the way. It’s a story that could happen only in California, a state with a history of "only" stories.Designed to be useful in a variety of college courses, this book is the first to unveil the Newsom backstory and will appeal to pundits and politicos as well as interested general readers.

California went through a political earthquake of sorts when the state recalled Governor Gray Davis in 2003. In 2021, the state faced another political turning point with the threatened recall of Governor Gavin Newsom. Less than two years after Newsom’s overwhelming election victory, more than two million Californians signed on to the recall effort, hoping to expel him from office in a special election. How could such a monumental turnabout be possible? Normally, the political headwinds would be much too strong for a movement to oust a governor who had decisively vanquished his opponent. But--with the COVID-19 pandemic dominating every aspect of society, including politics--these weren’t normal times. Organizing a recall election is a demanding enterprise: it takes abundant political energy, tremendous amounts of anger with the status quo, and mounds of money. Yet, for the second time in less than two decades, such wheels were set in motion. What is it that makes California so dynamic yet so fragile? This book explains that paradox and, in the process, enlightens readers about the recall process, the challenges of federalism, and the pitfalls of direct democracy. It examines the underlying conditions that expose a state with poorly linked institutions, a bitterly divided society, and a governor who had to act under nearly impossible conditions, demonstrating his strengths and vulnerabilities along the way. It’s a story that could happen only in California, a state with a history of "only" stories.Designed to be useful in a variety of college courses, this book is the first to unveil the Newsom backstory and will appeal to pundits and politicos as well as interested general readers.