¶ … Sol Wachtler's, After the Madness, is a riveting, powerful story about a distinguished public servant that finds himself on the other side of the law. The main character, who is also the author, writes about his experiences as a defendant and occupant of the criminal justice system in America.
Wachtler was the Chief Judge of New York. He had a long, distinguished record of public service, and was slated to become the state's next governor. Wachtler's bright future faded; however, as allegations of fraud and blackmail were brought against him by a former lover. Convicted of the charges in 1992, Wachtler was sent to two federal prisons for eleven months.
Wachtler details his rough, often brutal experiences in the federal facilities. He recounts being stabbed by a fellow inmate, and the wound being stitched using no anesthetic. He recalls being placed in solitary confinement as a result of the incident, and then blamed by security guards for his own wounds. Wachtler also addresses the many day-to-day experiences of an inmate: the food, cockroaches, guards, etc.
The moral of the story, at least from Wachtler's perspective, is that the prison system is inherently flawed in its design. Violent and non-violent offenders are treated equally inside. He distinguishes the former from the latter, in that non-violent offenders (who traditionally are convicted of drug offenses) are much different "deep down" than those who employ violence in their everyday lives. He characterizes one as "subhuman," while the other as "human." Wachtler also believes goals of imprisonment do not necessarily equate...
He writes, "And so I open the pages of this journal with the hope that the reader will gain some greater knowledge of what our prisons and prisoners are really like. Perhaps there can be an acceptance that not everyone in prison is subhuman, that there should be a difference in the punishment meted our for nonviolent and violent crime, and that the goal of imprisonment should be to promote public safety instead of to punish sinners" (Wachtler).
A chose to read this book for a number of reasons. Firstly, the premise of the book was very interesting. The fact that a judge was convicted, and sent to the same place where he sent criminals was very intriguing to me. I felt the book offered a very unique outlook on the criminal justice system, and possibly represented one of the most unbiased opinions on the failures of the system.
I was also attracted to the book because it dealt with the jails in America. Our entire criminal justice system has constantly been subject to controversy, but none more intense than those directed at our nation's jails. Overpopulation, living conditions, and administration in jails have consistently been a hot topic. Often, we are reluctant to put more money into alleviating these problems because we have no direct experience in prison, but this book gives us the closet thing to an experience.
The most important thing I got out of this book was, as Wachtler contends, the inherent flaws of the prison system regarding violent and nonviolent criminals. This is not to say I believe Wachtler was innocent of his crimes. Although I can sympathize…
