Criminal Justice? The Legal System Versus Individual Responsibility

Liberal theories about the causes of crime have virtually destroyed our criminal justice system, and turned our once-great cities into desolate battlefields. In response, Objectivist Robert James Bidinotto has compiled a book being hailed by law enforcement experts and crime victims as the definitive modern work on the subject of crime and punishment.

Criminal Justice? The Legal System Versus Individual Responsibility is a powerhouse collection of essays by 14 distinguished thinkers. They explode decades of excuse-making about the "root causes" of criminal behavior -- and offer tough, no-nonsense reforms for our failing criminal justice system.

Edited by Robert James Bidinotto, an award-winning Reader's Digest investigative journalist, Criminal Justice? is the first comprehensive analysis of crime to explore the causes -- and consequences -- of our legal system's abandonment of individual responsibility as its underlying principle. The result is a radical reassessment of contemporary thinking about justice and crime.

But more than a dissection of what is wrong with our criminal justice system, Criminal Justice? outlines a comprehensive crime-fighting agenda for the coming years.

Criminal Justice? is essential reading for public officials, law enforcement officers, social scholars, crime victims -- and every citizen seeking ways to stop the bloodshed on our streets.

Rave Reviews Criminal Justice?

"Bob Bidinotto has been right on target about the criminal 'injustice' system. He has been a loud voice for victims like myself. This book is a must read for anyone who knows the system is broken and wants to change it."

-- John Walsh, Host, "America's Most Wanted," Fox Television Network

"This is the most brilliantly informative book on the subject of crime I have ever read. It is mandatory reading, not only for anyone concerned with law enforcement and social justice, but anyone who wishes to better understand the problems afflicting the present society. I have never read anything like it. I cannot recommend it highly enough."

-- Dr. Nathaniel Branden, psychologist and author

"Robert Bidinotto has done it. He's managed to assemble a group of scholarly, yet immensely readable, articles that completely demolish a half century of half-baked theories about the causes of and society's response to crime. You're going to find out that the average citizen was right all along and the 'experts' deathly wrong."

-- Walter E. Williams, John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics, George Mason University

"Our society must deal with crime through a criminal justice system that is responsive and effective. Today's system isn't working, because of the 'Excuse-Making Industry' so aptly described in Robert Bidinotto's collection of articles by criminal justice experts."

-- Samuel A. Lewis, Former Director, Arizona Dept. of Corrections

"Persuasive...a compelling message."

-- Dominic S. Amato, Circuit Judge, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

"Bidinotto's hard-nosed, penetrating analysis of the crisis in our criminal justice system demolishes decades of liberal, criminal-coddling dogma... In these myth-shattering, insightful essays, Bidinotto explains how we must change the way we think about criminal behavior before we can make lasting improvements in the justice system. His book is essential reading for every citizen seeking ways to stop the bloodshed and violence on our streets."

-- Richard Thompson, Prosecuting Attorney, Oakland County, Michigan

"America's law enforcement officers, and crime victims, owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Bidinotto for documenting in one book how and why our justice system is broken -- and how to fix it."

-- James J. Fotis, Executive Director, Law Enforcement Alliance of America

Table of contents

• Foreword, by John Walsh
• Introduction to the Second Edition, by Robert James Bidinotto
• Introduction to the First Edition, by Robert James Bidinotto
• Part I -- Crime: Who's Responsible?
  1. Robert James Bidinotto, "Criminal Responsibility"
  2. Melvin D. Barger, "Crime: The Unsolved Problem"
  3. David Kelley, "Stalking the Criminal Mind"
  4. Stanton E. Samenow, "The Basic Myths About Criminals"
  5. David Walter, "Crime in the Welfare State"
• Part II -- The Flight From Responsibility
  1. Robert James Bidinotto, "Subverting Justice"
  2. Ralph Adam Fine, "Plea Bargaining: An UNnecessary Evil"
  3. Caleb Nelson, "The Paradox of the Exclusionary Rule"
  4. Ralph Adam Fine, "The Urge to Confess"
  5. Lee Coleman, "The Insanity Defense"
  6. John J. DiIulio and Charles H. Logan, "Ten Deadly Myths About Crime and Punishment In the U. S."
• Part III -- Restoring Responsibility
  1. Robert James Bidinotto, "Crime and Moral Retribution"
  2. Morgan O. Reynolds, "How to Reduce Crime"
  3. The Office of Policy Development, US Dept. of Justice, "The Case for More Incarceration"
  4. James Wootten, "Truth In Sentencing: Why States Should Make Violent Criminals Do Their Time"
  5. Mary Kate Cary, "How States Can Fight Violent Crime"
  6. Edward F. Leddy, "Community Supervision That Works"
  7. Robert James Bidinotto, "Restoring Responsibility"

320 pages with comprehensive index

Ordering information

Available in hardcover at major bookstores for $24.95
ISBN 1-57246-016-4

Or for a signed copy, send check for $25.00 (postage included) to:

Robert James Bidinotto
171 Hooker Avenue
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Keywords: crime, crime prevention, criminals, criminal psychology, criminal responsibility, psychopaths, sociopaths, criminal justice, justice, retribution, restitution, legal system, punishment, punitivity, incarceration, deterrence, prisons, prison conditions, prison costs, prison furloughs, rehabilitation, plea bargains, insanity defense, exclusionary rules, Miranda v. Arizona, Mapp v. Ohio, parole, probation, alternatives to incarceration, community-based corrections, corrections, recidivism