內容簡介
關起來就沒事了嗎：非裔美國人的罪與罰
2017紐約時報書評最佳作品之一
2018普立茲獎非小說得主
入圍美國國家圖書獎決選
作者詹姆士‧佛曼二代是美國前公設辯護律師，一直以來對於美國種族問題都相當注意，尤其是美國境內的非裔美籍人種的境遇。
在這本書當中，佛曼用政治家、社會運動者、警察、辯護人、犯罪受害者的故事，說出許許多多在公共安全的緊急衝突下，必須面臨兩難抉擇的人們。
法官、警察等執法人員憂慮若非裔美籍人士的人權意識繼續高漲，很有可能會突破法律能掌控的範圍，在販毒、衝突頻繁的狀況下，執法人員認為自己沒有其他選擇，只能考慮加長徒刑，或者讓警方取締的力道更強烈。
儘管如此，這樣的決定卻又有可能讓無辜的非裔美籍人民受到迫害。
透過自身對於種族問題的熱情，佛曼以本書讓讀者了解，為何美國社會罰則越來越重，任何關心種族和司法公正問題的人，都可以從本書中得到新知。
Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
Long-listed for the National Book Award
Finalist, Current Interest Category, Los Angeles Times Book Prizes
One of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2017
Short-listed for the Inaugural Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice
In recent years, America’s criminal justice system has become the subject of an increasingly urgent debate. Critics have assailed the rise of mass incarceration, emphasizing its disproportionate impact on people of color. As James Forman, Jr., points out, however, the war on crime that began in the 1970s was supported by many African American leaders in the nation’s urban centers. In Locking Up Our Own, he seeks to understand why.
Forman shows us that the first substantial cohort of black mayors, judges, and police chiefs took office amid a surge in crime and drug addiction. Many prominent black officials, including Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry and federal prosecutor Eric Holder, feared that the gains of the civil rights movement were being undermined by lawlessness―and thus embraced tough-on-crime measures, including longer sentences and aggressive police tactics. In the face of skyrocketing murder rates and the proliferation of open-air drug markets, they believed they had no choice. But the policies they adopted would have devastating consequences for residents of poor black neighborhoods.
A former D.C. public defender, Forman tells riveting stories of politicians, community activists, police officers, defendants, and crime victims. He writes with compassion about individuals trapped in terrible dilemmas―from the men and women he represented in court to officials struggling to respond to a public safety emergency. Locking Up Our Own enriches our understanding of why our society became so punitive and offers important lessons to anyone concerned about the future of race and the criminal justice system in this country.