Paul Brakke has 4 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators. The most-rated is American Justice?.
Crime in America
Summary
Crime in America features selections from a series of six books Paul Brakke wrote on what's wrong with the criminal justice system and how to fix it. These books deal with the police, courts, and prisons, and consider of some of the crises now facing American society due to illegal immigration, the opioid crisis, and the growing divide between racial, ethnic, rural-urban, and income groups. This book summarizes the critical insights of these other books in order to reach the widest possible audience, because one of Brakke's reasons for writing this book is to inspire real change. The book is organized into five sections. Part I deals with crime, who commits it, and the police as our first line of defense. Part II deals with punishment and its consequences, including the swamped criminal justice system, the positive and negative results of incarceration, and the collateral damage to the families of those incarcerated. Suggested remedies are scattered throughout these first two sections. Then, Part III concentrates on specific solutions, emphasizing reducing the return of ex-cons to prison and the length of prison sentences. Part IV concentrates on our drug plague, and Part V deals with divisions in the nation, some raised in previous sections, that must be healed to make America great again. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2018 Paul Brakke (P)2019 Paul Brakke
Uncertain Justice
Summary
Why is there so much uncertainty about how to reduce crime and fix what’s wrong with the criminal justice system? How can we make these fixes and lower the high costs of incarceration? Uncertain Justice discusses recent problems and suggests some fixes. To this end, it presents a commentary based on a recent series of press releases on current issues and is divided into these sections: Improving citizen-police relationships Promoting prison reform and better prison sentencing Healing the divisions in American society Dealing with illegal immigration Coping with the opioid crisis Portraying the criminal justice crisis in popular culture Using a social media and video campaign to help fix the criminal justice system. The chapters in each section highlight what’s wrong in response to recent developments in legislation, in the news, and in research reports. Then, each chapter concludes with some suggestions for reforming the system. Today, these fixes are needed more than ever, given the spiraling costs of crime and imprisoning too many prisoners for much longer than necessary. As the book describes, we need to have as many productive, understanding, legal, law-abiding citizens as possible to move the country forward. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Paul Brakke (P)2019 Paul Brakke
Fractured America
Summary
Why are there so many divisions America? What can we do to fix these divisions that are tearing the US apart? Fractured America discusses these many divisions and how to fix them. It begins by looking at the first racial divide going back to Civil War times. Then, it fast-forwards to discuss the present conflicts, such as the controversy over the killings of blacks by cops and the Black Lives Matter movement. It describes the difficulty of ending segregation and ending or delaying affirmative action. Additionally, the book points out other divides based on: Geography and politics, including the nationality and language divides caused by undocumented immigrants The North-South divide The division between the Coasts and Middle America Rural and urban American differences Conflicts between different ethnic groups Lifestyles of younger and older generations The income inequality between the rich and poor, which is getting wider The book concludes with some suggestions for reforming the system. These are fixes are desperately needed, as incivility and violence between groups are getting worse - unless we do something to create a new unity in the US. This book will help you think of ways to heal the growing divisions. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Paul Brakke (P)2019 Paul Brakke
American Justice?
Summary
This book is for those who believe they know all they need to know about the criminal justice system -- the system that keeps us safe from criminals; the system that protects its good, law-abiding citizens. Told in two sections, the first a first-person perspective of a victim's husband, American Justice is a true story that provides an up close and personal look at the American justice system and how easy it is to become a victim of the system. The focus within this book is more than the victims' stories, it is a crucial and critical examination of how things can go very wrong, especially when one does not adequately understand the laws that are supposed to protect them. Paul Brakke and his wife Carol believed that obeying the law and telling the truth was good enough. They believed that truth would indeed prevail. They were wrong. Paul and Carol Brakke's nightmare began when some local kids falsely accused Carol of trying to run one of them over. The kids didn't like her interfering with their play at a dangerous intersection. Based on this false accusation and additional lies by neighbors who wanted to get the Brakkes out of the neighborhood, Carol was subjected to psychological warfare, which included an involuntary commitment to a psych ward, two psychological evaluations, exile from her home, delays in setting a trial date, and the threat of a 16-year jail term. These circumstances forced the Brakkes to agree to move out of their home to another community as part of a plea bargain in which all charges relating to aggravated assault were dropped. This book describes Carol and Paul's harrowing experience, followed by Paul's discussion of problems in the criminal justice system and recommendations on what to do to resolve those problems.
©2016 Paul Brakke (P)2017 Paul Brakke