Harsh Justice

James Q. Whitman is Ford Foundation Professor of Comparative and Foreign Law at Yale University. He has taught at Stanford and Harvard Law Schools and was trained as a historian at the University of Chicago before taking his law degree at Yale.

• Introduction ; 1. Degradation, Harshness, and Mercy ; 2. Contemporary American Harshness: Rejecting Respect for Persons ; 3. Continental Dignity and Mildness ; 4. The Continental Abolition of Degradation ; 5. Low Status in the Anglo-American World ; Conclusion: Two Revolutions of Status ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

"Whitman's whirlwind tour of the punishment practices of three countries over the last two centuries is well worth the price of admission. He has a deep pool of knowledge and an eye for the telling detail--a picture, a turn of phrase, or a small historical event--that helps to advance his thesis."--Boston Review