After the madness: causes and consequences

¶ … 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 to their eventual results. 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 with his plight, I do recognize the guilty verdict rendered by the jury in his case. Wachtler was clearly mentally impaired, and deserving of time spent in an institution. However, I can see where his character differed from many of the other inmates. Wachtler was not a violent offender, and his crimes only suggested "intent," and not true action. I think it is clear that Wachtler's character, despite his mental failings, was much different than the inmates convicted of violent offenses, and therefore, he deserved different treatment under the system.

Wachtler suggests, implicitly and explicitly, a top-to-bottom reform of the prison system. He distinguishes drug and other nonviolent offenses from those involving violence. Those convicted of the latter would be much more suitable in the present system -- where guards are vicious, noise is unbearable, and danger is a constant. Those guilty of nonviolent crimes, Wachtler contends, deserve much better. They do not pose nearly the same threat to society -- they are hardly different from their contemporaries outside the walls of the prison. Nonviolent offenders, like Wachtler, are not criminals by nature, and need rehabilitation rather than imprisonment.

The book was interesting at times, but it also dragged. Our culture is inundated with images of prisons (i.e. OZ, Shawshank Redemption, etc.). We are constantly made aware of the bizarre and disturbing incidences that take place within prisons. Maybe twenty or thirty years ago we were unaware of this dynamic, but today we are more than educated about it. Much of what Wachtler wrote about was not new to me. I already knew about the smells, the noises, the violence, and the rape. What was interesting, though, were his personal thoughts throughout his experience. I enjoyed the way he acknowledged the ironies surrounding his imprisonment. I was interested in his evaluations of his fellow inmates -- as a prisoner and not a judge. I was interested in the parts where Supreme Court Justice Blackmum visits him, and when he runs into an individual he sentenced.