Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2021 -

In this vivid, powerful, and provoking text Nadal masterfully exposes how criminal justice policies, stereotypes, and fear have historically obscured rather than clarified the everyday realities of LGBTQ people--the perennial "other"--in the US. He charges that anti-gay policies, supported by certain social movements and the mentality of some, continue to strategically brutalize, marginalize, oppress, and silence non-straight people. Marshalling sound evidence and in vivid detail, Nadal argues that it is time we as a society acknowledge the brutality, intimidation, and oppression waged against LGBTQ people. Instead of pushing sexuality to the social margins, it should be situated at the center of our moral universe, prompting us to expose, accept, appreciate, and mobilize "othered" persons and correlating modes of thought, as we seek to humanize the existing (twisted) social contours of gender and sexual justice. Ultimately, this author challenges readers to understand, view, and treat sexuality for what it is--part of a person's unique self. Broadly, this book calls for a transformation in moral, philosophical, legal, cultural, social, and public thinking about sexuality and criminal justice. The text addresses areas of philosophy, legal thought, sexuality, and gender studies, offering a must read for people vested in better understanding of, e.g., sexual violence, LGBTQ people, and sexual justice.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Johnson (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City Univ. of New York) has written a fascinating and disturbing account of sexual assault convictions focusing on "two sets of egregious violations, rape/sexual assault and wrongful criminal conviction." Much of Johnson's information on wrongful conviction cases is sourced from the Innocence Project and the National Register of Exonerations. He reviews cases with wrongful convictions for sexual assault from several different perspectives: types of rape (stranger, date, and acquaintance), law enforcement tactics, racial makeup of defendants, child sexual abuse cases, and resulting hysteria. In addition, Johnson looks at how wrongful convictions occur, including misidentification by victims, tunnel vision, manufactured evidence, confirmation bias, and misinformation effects. Numerous cases (some high-profile, e.g., Central Park Five, Little Rascals Day Care) are analyzed to illustrate the wrongful conviction issues. Two chapters are particularly noteworthy: "Race and Rape Prosecution in US History" (pre-Civil War to the present) examines how race has influenced the prosecution and penalties for sexual assault. "Prospective and Future Directions" reviews work completed on wrongful convictions and suggests further projects. Chapter summaries are provided, along with a glossary, 25 pages of references, and two indexes (names and subjects treated separately) to facilitate further understanding. The book is a difficult but necessary read.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty.