Criminal Justice and The Ideal Defendant in the Making of Remorse and Responsibility - (Oñati International Law and Society) (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This book investigates how defendants are assessed by criminal justice decisionmakers, such as judges, lawyers, probation officers, parole board members and those involved in restorative justice. What attitudes and emotions are defendants expected to show? How are these expectations communicated?

The book argues that defendants, at various stages of the criminal justice process, are expected to show a (more or less) free acceptance of guilt and individual responsibility along with a display of 'appropriate' emotions, ideally including 'genuine' remorse. It examines why such expressions of individual
responsibility and remorse are so important to decision-makers and the state.

With contributors from across the world, the book opens new comparative possibilities and research agendas.

Review Quotes

Criminal Justice & The Ideal Defendant originates new research agendas and fresh perspectives on the key problem of remorse and responsibility.
Julian Roberts, Emeritus Professor of Criminology, Oxford University, UK

Criminal Justice and The Ideal Defendant is a dazzling contribution. It takes the debate in important new directions, and poses a powerful challenge to conventional wisdom.
Susan A. Bandes, Centennial Professor of Law Emeritus, DePaul University College of Law, USA

This fascinating volume reveals the complex role of emotions in criminal justice; a topic that requires and deserves our urgent attention, if we are to find our way towards more honest and more just systems and practices.
Fergus McNeill, Professor of Criminology & Social Work, Glasgow University, Scotland

About the Author

Stewart Field is Professor of Law at the School of Law and Politics at Cardiff University, UK.
Cyrus Tata is Professor of Law and Criminal Justice at Strathclyde University Law School, UK, where he is director of the Centre for Law, Crime & Justice.