Move over Banksy! Who would have believed that a book by an ex-young offender would lead to full-time work as an artist that includes helping prisons to brighten their days?
Justin Rollins, author of The Lost Boyz: A Dark Side of Graffiti – adopted as a criminology course text by colleges and universities in places such as Birmingham and Coventry – has progressed to painting murals and similar works for a living, especially in prisons.… Read more “Young Offender to Mural Maestro”
We start with a subject area which despite its seriousness remains perennially popular, before moving onto ‘lighter’ matters! Alan Jackaman’s Napper: Through a Glass Darkly was the basis for the Channel 4’s 2021 drama ‘Deceit.’ It describes his 15 year campaign to bring Robert Napper to justice for a later murder after he killed Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common plus the mistakes that allowed this to happen.… Read more “Justice-related Gifts to Consider”
Some belated good news! Congratulations are due as Helena Normanton has been awarded a Blue Plaque by English Heritage after being brought back to public attention by Judith Bourne’s book Helena Normanton and the Opening of the Bar to Women.
All at Waterside Press were saddened to learn of the death on 28 May 2021 of Scandinavian sociologist Thomas Mathiesen who was for many years Professor of the Sociology of Law at Oslo University. His fine achievements will be amply catalogued elsewhere so I will confine myself to a few personal recollections.… Read more “Thomas Mathiesen (1933-2021)”
The sad news that David Faulkner CB (1934-2020) has died will have been a shock to many of those in his wide professional and social networks. Substantial obituaries and accolades have appeared elsewhere (e.g. in the Guardian), so I will confine myself to a personal perspective as David’s one-time (distant) colleague and latterly publisher of two of his books.… Read more “David Faulkner CB (1934-2020)”
