A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It [Written by Frederic Block]

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/814991 to listen full audiobooks. Title: A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It Author: Frederic Block Narrator: Joe Barrett Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 6 hours 19 minutes Release date: October 15, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 1 Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics Publisher's Summary: Murderous mafia capos. The police officer who brutalized Abner Louima. A purveyor of child pornography. These are some of the defendants to have come before US District Court Judge Frederic Block to ask for reductions in their prison sentences. All of them have been found guilty and have already served decades in prison, but under the 2018 First Step Act they are entitled to petition for reconsideration and release. In a rare glimpse behind the bench, Judge Block recounts the cases of six incarcerated people who have done heinous things but have nevertheless petitioned him for their release. He then explains the criteria the First Step Act has spelled out for his consideration. And, in a novel twist, he asks the listener, 'What would you do?' Judge Block puts us out of our suspense in a third section of the book where he tells us what he did do in each case and why, as he weighs each compassionate release request, evaluating issues ranging from 'the trial tax,' to sentencing disparities, to judicial incompetence. Finally, Judge Block makes the compelling case that the First Step Act should be extended to state court judges, since state prisons house about ninety percent of those incarcerated. In a book that could be the basis for a new season of Law & Order, Judge Block challenges our ideas about punishment and justice.