A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It

by Frederic Block

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.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published September 17, 2024

Reviews

[Mr. Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.

Thank you, The New Press, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Mr. Book just finished A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It by Frederic Block.
The author is a federal court judge who wrote about six individuals who petitioned him to be released from from federal prison. In the first part of the book, there was a chapter on each person’s crimes, followed by a chapter on the federal statute that he asked for release under and then another chapter on each one telling how Judge Block decided.
The six cases were a New York police officer who was guilty of an infamous attack on an innocent man, a man convicted of murder under RICO, someone who downloaded thousands of images of child pornography and several Mafia cases.
In addition to discussing the individual cases, the author gave a history of US drug laws and how they’ve been used to target minorities, discussion of US gun laws and a discussion of threats and violence against federal judges, along with how the situation has gotten much worse thanks to Trump.
This was a fascinating look at the cases, how the judge performed his decision making as well as other aspects of the legal system. I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

Mr. Book originally finished reading this on July 16, 2024.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazingly well written book that talks about the little discussed trial tax that prosecutors impose on those seeking their constitutional rights and the also very little discussed and injustice of collateral consequences that so many face.

[Chris Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the First Step Act was enacted, it changed the landscape of criminal justices reform at the federal level! In this book, Judge Block details the cases and actions take upon a review. In the end, he details the outcomes and challenges that need to happen to make greater criminal justice reform

[Isabella McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an eye opener for the justice system and how it can be unruly and unfair to anyone. Highly recommend. It’s written by a judge with first hand experience.