Incomplete Sentences

A former federal judge tells the stories of the people she sentenced over 17 years on the bench and the lessons learned about our deeply flawed justice system

Over the course of 17 years as a federal judge, Nancy Gertner sentenced hundreds of defendants in accordance with the rule of law. But more often than not, she felt the punishments she was required to name were disproportionate, and based on racially discriminatory laws and practices. In this book, she tells the stories young men and boys, to whom she was forced by federal mandates to dole out harsh punishments, and how she fought to bring their humanity into the courtroom. She follows their stories, including four men facing a death, traces their fates--too often tragic--and offers a compelling narrative of justice gone wrong.

In writing these stories , Judge Gertner reimagines the criminal justice system to be more humane, to better serve the community and the nation. Ultimately, through the lens of these shattered lives, the book demands systemic reform.

Nancy Gertner is a former U.S. federal judge. She was appointed to the bench in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, and retired in 2011 to join the faculty of Harvard Law School, where she still teaches. She is also the author of a memoir, In Defense of Women, called "a riveting legal memoir by a superstar lawyer, a compassionate judge, and a page-turning writer, by Alan Dershowitz, detailing her career as a defense lawyer advocating for civil liberties and women's rights.