From Publishers Weekly
Ostensibly about the justice system, this book is in large part a rehash of the decades-old culture war between the Left and the Right, in which Colson argues that almost all left-of-center assumptions about humanity and God are wrong and dangerous, and that those of the Christian Right are correct. Rife with false dilemmas (e.g., individuals are to blame for crime; their environment is not), Colson's arguments are puzzling, since he targets an audience of evangelicals who are already on his side. More confusing is the fact that in his last few chapters, Colson reveals his support for prison reform initiatives of both the Left and the Right, and in doing so occasionally contradicts himself. For example, after repeatedly bemoaning the futility of therapy as a tool for rehabilitation, he ends the book by praising several programs that have strong therapeutic components. In addition, after arguing that the rising prison population is a valid indicator of a culture increasingly prone to "coarse crimes," he later agrees with scholars who say that only a small minority of inmates are serious criminals. While Colson never fully acknowledges that he agrees with liberal thinkers about anything, he does, for example, gingerly critique some aspects of the war on drugs. The book's anecdotes about Christian-run prisons, community courts and creative sentencing are inspiring and would likely motivate readers of all stripes. Sadly, these stories are footnotes to a diatribe that will appeal to only a narrow audience. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
America's justice system is broken. Offenders repeat and return to jail. Chuck Colson shows why the prevailing systems of criminal justice simply don't work. The book showcases Colson at his best, including personal stories, historical study, and shocking statistics. Bottom line: only a system that is based on a biblical worldview, a system that restores both the offender and the offended, will have any lasting success. This authoritative work is Colson's legacy statement about criminal justice. These proven principles can reverse the current criminal decline.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Colson contends that a system of true justice can be built only if it is based on the foundation of a sound worldview. What we believe as individuals about the value of life, the essence of human nature, and the possibility of redemption is the critical issue that determines an effective approach to justice and reform.

Since his incarceration in the aftermath of Watergate, Chuck Colson has lived and worked for a great cause: to transform the hearts and minds of prisoners and their families. Through the course of his work over twenty-five years, he has also prophetically critiqued the failures of the criminal justice system and the moral state of our culture, which, he argues, has caused crime to surge.

In this readable and challenging work, Colson combines his personal experience, his extensive study of the justice system and efforts at prison reform, and his encounters with prisoners themselves. Justice That Restores is insightful and prophetic, offering compelling answers to the failures of America's system of justice.

This country is at a crossroads, he argues, and needs a whole new philosophy of criminal justice. Both conservatives and liberals have produced expensive prisons and justice systems that miss the mark. We are spending more on building prisons than on schools; we have the second largest incarceration rate per capita in the world; inequities and injustices in the system abound. America needs to do something. NOW. What is the Answer?

The answer is found in the lives of Leon and Danny and Don, whose stories are told here, as well as in the experiences Colson and his colleagues have had in thousands of prisons. The answer lies fundamentally deep down inside the values that our culture embraces. We'll never solve the crime problem, Colson argues, until we solve the moral issues that afflict our families and our society.

SYNOPSIS

America's justice system is broken. Offenders repeat and return to jail. Chuck Colson shows why the prevailing systems of criminal justice simply don't work. The book showcases Colson at his best, including personal stories, historical study, and shocking statistics. Bottom line: only a system that is based on a biblical worldview, a system that restores both the offender and the offended, will have any lasting success. This authoritative work is Colson's legacy statement about criminal justice. These proven principles can reverse the current criminal decline.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly