The debate between prison reformists and prison abolitionists is raw and heavily politicised. This increases the risk of each side in the debate speaking past each other or criticising straw man versions of their opponents’ arguments. In this conversation with Andy West, criminologist Jason Warr offers an even-handed assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of both positions, along with some reflections on the morality of punishment.

"I confess to persistent envy while reading The Life Inside about the urgency that philosophical questions have in West’s classrooms. "

"A 'morality' that jettisons moral responsibility, and that affirms that no one is deserving of anything, strikes many as implausible."