Book Review: Sentencing and the Legitimacy of Trial Justice

Abstract

Book Review: Henham, Ralph. Sentencing and the Legitimacy of Trial Justice (Routledge, 2012). Reviewed in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books.

The book artfully explores unchartered territory. It attempts to explain the void in the discussion between sentencing outcomes and the public’s perception of the legitimacy of our criminal justice system. Current theory and research of the structure, policies, and processes that affect sentencing do not adequately reflect, or even acknowledge, society’s perception of individual sentencing outcomes as it relates to the public’s broader sense of justice. Henham seeks to fill this void by describing how public perception may reflect, and affect, criminal justice system within the concept of legitimacy. While other scholars have presented legitimacy as a part of the criminal justice dialogue, Henham explores legitimacy through the lens of morality and the sometimes conflicting community norms and values.