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Martha Minow On Forgiveness In The Criminal Justice System

“When Brandt Jean hugged the white police officer who had just been convicted of murdering his unarmed brother while he was in his own home, the act sparked a wider conversation about forgiveness, the law, and race in America. And while some saw officer Amber Guyger’s 10-year prison sentence as a fair outcome, others said it was too light a punishment, and pointed to many ways in which the American criminal justice system has systematically incarcerated people of color at high rates and with long sentences. In her new book, When Should Law Forgive?, Harvard Law School professor Martha Minow examines a range of areas where the legal system offers opportunities for absolution, and asks where they might be used more, and where they should not.”

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