In Their Names

The Untold Story of Victims’ Rights, Mass Incarceration, and the Future of Public Safety

In a book that Van Jones calls a “game changer” and Baz Dreisinger calls “a must-read,” the founder of Alliance for Safety and Justice dispels the myth that mass incarceration benefits crime victims and offers a transformative new vision for public safety

“A timely book [that] reveals an explosive truth: mass incarceration—built in the names of crime victims—doesn’t serve their true interests.” —James Forman Jr.

Hailed as “a passionate and provocative indictment of how the victims’ rights movement has warped the American justice system” (Publishers Weekly), In Their Names dispels the myth that mass incarceration benefits victims, and proposes a new public safety paradigm that recognizes victims’ true safety needs.

Lenore Anderson, whom the distinguished criminologist David Kennedy calls “one of the most effective criminal justice reformers America has ever had,” demonstrates how, in the 1980s, victims’ rights political activism morphed into a demand for more incarceration “in their names,” while bringing about policies that fuel more trauma than they heal. Called “well-researched, results-driven, and readable” by Booklist, In Their Names “deserves a wide audience, from policymakers to ordinary citizens alike,” according to James Forman Jr., Yale Law School professor and author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Locking Up Our Own.

At a time when U.S. crime policy is increasingly debated in politics and media, the lessons and message of this book are current—and urgent. As renowned criminal justice author Nell Bernstein writes, Anderson “offers a vision of justice and healing that is generous enough to encompass all of us.”

Now available in an accessible paperback format, this “startling wake-up call” (Susan Burton) argues persuasively for closing the gap between our public safety systems and victims, to heal cycles of violence and enhance public safety for all.

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Praise

“This book is a game changer, taking what we think we know about crime victims and public safety and turning it on its head. Chock-full of breakthrough insights, compelling stories, compassion, and clarity, this urgent call for a new justice system is a must-read for everyone who cares about safety.”
—Van Jones, CNN contributor and host of Uncommon Ground
“One of the most effective criminal justice reformers America has ever had takes a break from her frontline work to show the damage that has come from misrepresenting victims, why respecting victims would change everything, and what a system built on real justice for victims would look like. This seminal book provides a road map to a saner and more effective system.”
—David Kennedy, director of National Network for Safe Communities and John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor
“This book represents a vital missing piece in the scholarly arsenal of our fight against mass incarceration, not only tracing the role of so-called victim’s rights movements in creating the carceral state but showcasing how the very concept of ‘victim’ has been racialized and weaponized throughout American history. A must-read.”
—Baz Dreisinger, John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and author of Incarceration Nations
“Persuasive and well-written.”
—Library Journal
“A timely and appreciated contribution to our national dialogue on crime.”
—Midwest Book Review
“This timely book reveals an explosive truth: mass incarceration—built in the names of crime victims—doesn’t serve their true interests. Instead of longer prison sentences, Lenore Anderson shows how most victims want and need a new approach to safety, rooted in healing, care, and redress. In Their Names deserves a wide audience, from policymakers to ordinary citizens alike.”
—James Forman Jr., Yale Law School professor and author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Locking Up Our Own
“A startling wake-up call to the grave mistakes the nation has made in revictimizing victims. Masterfully written, the book’s moving stories will inspire anyone to reevaluate our culture’s definition of safety and its concrete steps will provide a way forward to a more humane future. It should be required reading. Brava, Lenore Anderson!”
—Susan Burton, founder of A New Way of Life and author of Becoming Ms. Burton
“A work of tremendous wisdom and compassion. Lenore Anderson shatters a foundational myth—that one person’s suffering can make another whole—and offers a vision of justice and healing that is generous enough to encompass all of us.”
—Nell Bernstein, author of Burning Down the House
“This well-researched, results-driven, and readable work challenges ideas of victimhood and offers a way forward from mass incarceration to true public safety.”
—Booklist
“A passionate and provocative indictment of how the victims’ rights movement has warped the American justice system. . . . Throughout, Anderson documents harrowing miscarriages of justice and expresses heartfelt compassion for victims, inmates, and their families. The result is a lucid road map for a more humane criminal justice system.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A new vision for victims’ rights, one that focuses not on punishment, but on providing aid and trauma recovery, with the goal of meeting people’s material needs and interrupting cycles of violence.”
—The Guardian

News and Reviews

Literary Hub

Read an excerpt from In Their Names in Literary Hub.

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The Conversation

Listen to an interview with Lenore Anderson about In Their Names on TYT’s The Conversation.

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Publishers Weekly

Read a review of Lenore Anderson's In Their Names in Publishers Weekly.

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Goodreads Reviews