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27 Fed. Sent'g Rep. 1 (2014-2015)

handle is hein.journals/fedsen27 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITOR'S OBSERVATIONS Human Dignity, Crime Prevention, and Mass Incarceration: A Meaningful, Practical Comparison Across Borders NORA V. DEMLEITNER Dean and Roy L. Steinheimer Jr. Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University School of Law Editor, Federal Sentencing Reporter I. Introduction Articles and books on how foreign-usually European-legal systems address sentencing, corrections, and reentry abound.' They are deemed interesting theoretically but generally dismissed as inapplicable and irrelevant in informing U.S. sentencing and corrections practices in light of the differences between the United States and foreign countries.' Not surprisingly, these publications do not spark reform, in part because they have been unsuccessful in overcoming assumptions about irreconcilable differences and noncompatibility, and in part because often detailed proposals and insights for implementation of reforms derived from practices in a foreign jurisdiction are missing. The project at the heart of this Issue is fundamentally different. Its comparative framework is based on a cross-national study visit by the corrections officials of three U.S. states, who were accompanied by other key players in the respective states' criminal justice systems and members of the Vera Institute of Justice. Together they visited prisons in two Central European countries and engaged German and Dutch corrections officials who share some of the same challenges, though their approaches are fun- damentally different. The articles in this Issue reflect the deep impact the trip has had on all and discuss some of the changes officials have implemented in the wake of the European prison visits. The visits jump-started a cross-national dialogue, highlighted what works in corrections in different regimes, and ultimately influenced the belief set of the American stakeholders. This article will discuss the origins of the project and concerns about incommensurability. It focuses on the concept of human dignity, a notion at the heart of European sentencing. The authors in this Issue note the preeminence of this concept and its practical application, not only in the form of substantially lower imprisonment rates but also within the corrections system. It is reflected in more limited collateral sanctions and in a genuine belief in giving offenders a second chance. The current plateau and even decrease in imprisonment rates in the United States raise the question, are we at the beginning of a sustained re-alignment, perhaps in conjunction with recognition of the value of human dignity? Or are we merely witnessing a short-term adjustment to budgetary realities? II. Origins of the European-American Project Following the litigation in Brown v. Plata,3 Don Specter and the Prison Law Office dedicated a part of the fees earned to this comparative corrections project to be directed by the Vera Institute of Justice. Despite their victory in the litigation, they had concluded that truly systemic change, to occur in a shorter timeframe and to bring about comprehensive change, requires tools other than litigation. As Don Specter indicates in his article, a trip to prisons in Northern and Central Europe immediately after Plata had been decided, surprised and deeply moved him.4 Therefore he hoped that this trip, with state corrections and criminal justice officials, would provide for cross-fertilization and open the door to approaches that would make the U.S. criminal justice system more humane and more effective by Federal Sentencing Reporter, Vol. 27, No. , pp. 1-6, ISSN 1053-9867, electronic ISSN 1533-8363. © 204 Vera Institute of Justice. All rights reserved. Please direct requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Rights and Permissions website, http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintlnfo.asp. DOI: 1o.I525/fsr.2o14.27. .I. FEDERAL SENTENCING REPORTER • VOL. 27, NO. 1 • OCTOBER 2014

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