Institutions of Power: On Justice, Life, and the Law

Trace the centuries-long rivalry between secular and religious power in Italy through the lens of a single, vital institution: the hospital. This essay examines how the Italian healthcare system, once the backbone of Church-run charity, was gradually transformed by the rise of the modern state. It details the fractious institutional development and legal shifts that saw the principles of public welfare and secularism displace a system originally founded on faith.

Look beyond the pews to see the Catholic Church as a formidable political organizer. This essay details the crucial role the Church played in creating and sustaining the right-to-life movement following Roe v. Wade. It reveals how the Church provided the organizational infrastructure, ideology, and resources to build a powerful coalition that successfully worked to overturn established abortion rights, showcasing the enduring influence of religious institutions on public policy.

Drawing on the theories of Michel Foucault, this paper analyzes the failure of the 19th-century “Moral Treatment” movement in American asylums. It argues that institutions designed for humane care ultimately mirrored prisons due to systemic neglect and the dehumanizing treatment of marginalized groups. This historical analysis offers profound insights into the modern criminalization of mental illness and the pitfalls of institutional reform.

Does providing mental health treatment in prison actually reduce reoffending? Based on a statistical analysis of over 500 formerly incarcerated individuals, this study reveals a surprising answer: by itself, it doesn’t. This paper dissects the data to argue that factors like drug history and prior convictions are far stronger predictors, suggesting that only comprehensive strategies involving education, employment, and social services can truly address high recidivism rates.

Go behind the curtain of the modern American execution chamber. This paper traces the evolution and ongoing controversy surrounding lethal injection, the nation’s primary method of capital punishment. It moves beyond legal debate to reveal the multitude of factors—from drug shortages and experimental methods to underlying political motivations—that plague the effective and ethical enforcement of the death penalty today.