The United States alone locks up a quarter of the world’s incarcerated people. And yet, apart from clichés – “paying a debt to society” … “you do the crime, you do the time” – there is little sense collectively in America regarding what constitutes retribution or atonement. We don’t actually know why we punish. >> In his investigation into the crisis of the American criminal justice system, author Ben Austen’s powerful new book, “Correction,” offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process of parole told through the portraits of two men imprisoned for murder and the parole board that holds their freedom in the balance. >> In this episode of "Both Sides of the Bars," Austen discusses some of the most profound questions underlying our country’s values around crime and punishment: What must someone who commits a terrible act do to get a second chance? And what does incarceration seek to accomplish?
