The report of a roundtable convened by John Jay College of Criminal Justice and supported by MacArthur finds that a sustained interdisciplinary scholarly approach to exploring punitiveness in America might help point the way to a society that is more just. The roundtable, held in April 2015, determined that significant change in the American criminal justice system will require coming to terms with American views on punishment, which in turn requires a deep understanding of U.S. history, the unresolved legacy of slavery, the human emotions of revenge and forgiveness, the principled limits of the power of the State, the role of religion and values in shaping culture, and the dynamics of political power and economic forces.
