Bending the Bars - by Jessica S Henry (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

What justice requires when people change but their sentences stay the same.

America loves a second chance story. Yet people convicted of serious crimes are seldom given one. Years after taking responsibility and working to repair harm, many remain behind bars even though their continued incarceration does little to keep us safer and carries tremendous human and financial costs.

In Bending the Bars, Jessica S. Henry makes the case against endless punishment that leaves no room for redemption. Grounding her analysis of law and policy in the lived experiences of people directly affected by extreme sentences, Henry shows how accountability, public safety, and second chances can coexist within a framework that recognizes human dignity and the capacity for change.

Urgent and compelling, this book challenges us to rethink who deserves a second chance, who gets to decide, and what justice demands beyond defining a person by the worst thing they have ever done.

From the Back Cover

"Through forceful analysis and gripping storytelling, Jessica Henry proves that providing second chances to individuals living behind bars benefits us all."--Michael Pinard, Francis and Harriet Iglehart Professor of Law, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

"Bending the Bars is a vital guide through America's false promise of personal redemption. Drawing on hard data and compelling stories, the book shows us how our system is destroying lives and breaking the bank while doing so--all in the face of data showing our current approach may be the worst one possible. Luckily, Henry is here to offer us a better way forward--if we have the courage to take it."--Emily Galvin Almanza, author of The Price of Mercy

"Through vivid stories of people who have experienced extreme sentencing, Henry will convince you that we can protect public safety while providing genuine opportunities for parole, clemency, and sentence review that recognize people's capacity to change."--Ashley Nellis, coauthor of The Meaning of Life

"Bending the Bars is a must-read for anyone interested in a distinctly American phenomenon: mass incarceration. A master storyteller, Henry weaves together narratives of rehabilitated individuals who remain incarcerated after decades in prison with policy prescriptions for addressing the problem. In the end, Bending the Bars is a work of hope, offering a path forward to end overpunishment."--David Singleton, Professor of Law, UDC David A. Clarke School of Law

"After three decades in prison, transformation and clemency gave me a second chance. Bending the Bars powerfully shows that accountability, dignity, public safety, redemption, and second chances can coexist with justice."--David R. Carrillo, author of Inside the Sentence and Kiko: From Life Without Parole to Life with Purpose

"This book reflects a truth that my own experience has taught me: Healing is possible, accountability can restore dignity, and compassion is not the opposite of justice--it is one of its highest expressions."--Azim Khamisa, ounder of the Tariq Khamisa Foundation

"By detailing examples of second chances and humanizing the people who are often considered irredeemable, Jessica Henry helps us to see what has been lost: the basic principle of human dignity. Bending the Bars provides an important path to making our communities truly safer for all. Will we be brave enough to take it?"--Christopher Blackwell, award-winning prison journalist and cofounder and executive director of Look2Justice

About the Author

Jessica S. Henry is an attorney and Professor Emerita of Justice Studies at Montclair State University. She is the award-winning author of Smoke but No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes that Never Happened and host of the podcast Just Justice.