Talking Criminal Justice: Language and the Just Society

Why do we talk at times of those in maximum security cells as "offenders" who are the "worst of the worst," and why, at other times, do we speak of them as "people who start out life with two strikes against them?" When do we describe people who have committed violence as "murderers" who are "horrendous animals," and when do we characterize them as "victims in their own right" who finally "break down and cross the line?" This book studies the language used in criminal justice discourse as causal and inherently political, examining the ideology that underlines such topics as '¬Üinnocent victim'¬", '¬Ütough on crime'¬" and '¬Üevil.'¬" The author demonstrates that both ideas about justice and practices for administering justice are the direct result of, and are constructed in, everyday language choices and by ongoing reinforcement of these choices.