1 out of 4 stars
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There are many books about the criminal justice system, and within that category, quite a few that specifically focus on calling out the problematic aspects of the system as it stands today. JusXtice by Iam Clarize is one example, and it does so through the lens of the author’s personal experience being convicted of a crime, being sentenced to several years in prison, and eventually released on parole.
The author, who wrote this book under a pseudonym, claims to be afraid of retaliation by the government for the revelations within. Essentially, he asserts his innocence of the charge of possession of child pornography, and suggests that he was framed. During his time in court, the author asserts that he was assigned several incompetent attorneys who did little to investigate or defend his case, and a judge who had a personal vendetta against him. He calls out the court system for aggressive prosecution, lack of integrity, and over-prioritizing profitability. He also accuses the defense attorney and prosecutor of colluding to pressure him into accepting a plea bargain. He goes on to state that he was actively forced to lie in court, when questioned regarding interstate commerce, and repeatedly mentions that his sentence was “stacked” resulting in a doubled length of time in prison. Even upon his release on parole, he considers himself a slave of the government, angrily lamenting his lost freedom and abuse by the “Department of Injustice.”
I have personally taken several graduate courses on various aspects of the criminal justice system, and am quite familiar with its various downfalls. Theoretically, I have no qualms with believing that the types of situations described by the author in this book do in fact occur. However, I have a problem with believing this particular account, simply because of the way that it was written. It seems that every possible thing that can be wrong within a narrative is prominent in this one.
On the basic level, there are numerous grammatical errors throughout the book. These include run-on sentences, randomly switching verb tenses, incomplete sentences, and the use of entirely wrong words (for example, using “stigmata” where he meant to say “stigma.”) The entire account is unfocused, and reads more like a rambling memoir than a description of a criminal case. There is no cohesive organization or logical progression from one chapter to the next, and the topics do not even follow a chronological order. Instead, the narrative skips around the timeline of events, jumping forward, then cycling back. The author repeats certain sections several times, almost verbatim, yet leaves out other vital pieces of the story. For example, though he repeatedly (and defensively!) asserts his innocence, he never actually explains how pornographic materials got onto his computer, other than vaguely stating that he was set-up. He also later makes a point to say that people with images on their computer are different than “real” predators who actually attempt to make physical contact with children, which honestly sounds like justification of wrongdoing rather than evidence of innocence.
At its core, this is a scattered stream-of-consciousness rant, in an angry and defensive tone, decorated with a handful of barely-related tangential anecdotes and political diatribes. It is full of self-justifications, inconsistencies, and what occasionally sound like delusions of grandeur (such as being personally targeted by several government agencies, and the use of mind control on him and everyone else). The author frequently veers off topic, ranting about the Clintons several times, and when he does stay on point he tends to repeat himself excessively. I am not exaggerating when I say that if all of the redundant sections of the text were removed, this book would probably be less than half its current length.
Due to the nature of his case (child pornography) as well as the author’s liberal use of profanity throughout the text, I would not recommend this book for minors. In fact, I am not sure that there is a particular population to whom I would recommend this book. There was nothing significantly profound or memorable, even within the sections of the account that made any sense. Simply put, there are much better books out there on this subject. I rate this work 1 out of 4 stars.
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JusXtice
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