Guilty People

Abbe Smith, Guilty People (Rutgers University Press, 2020).

In Guilty People, law professor and longtime criminal defense attorney, Abbe Smith gives us a thoughtful and honest look at guilty individuals on trial. Each chapter tells compelling stories about real cases she handled; some of her clients were guilty of only petty crimes and misdemeanors, while others committed offenses as grave as rape and murder. In the process, she answers the question that every defense attorney is routinely asked: How can you represent these people? 

Smith's answer also tackles seldom-addressed but equally important questions such as: Who are the people filling our nation's jails and prisons? Are they as dangerous and depraved as they are usually portrayed? How did they get caught up in the system? And what happens to them there? 

This book challenges the assumption that the guilty are a separate species, unworthy of humane treatment.

-Publisher's Description