states. Adultery is illegal in 27 states. And this year the USA will spend
$50 billion and sacrifice $150 billion in tax revenues to arrest four to
six million fellow citizens for victimless consensual crimes.
This book is about a single idea: Consenting adults should not be put
in jail unless they physically harm the person or property of a non consenting
other. As author Peter McWilliams points out in his meticulously re-searched
text, more than 750,000 people are currently in jail in the USA for consensual
crimes. Sex outside of marriage between consenting adults is illegal in
10
states. Adultery is illegal in 27 states. And this year the USA will spend
$50 billion and sacrifice $150 billion in tax revenues to arrest four to
six million fellow citizens for victimless consensual crimes.
McWilliams makes a compelling case that imposing criminal sanctions on human conduct which is wholly consensual and does not harm another person or his or her property is a misplaced and counterproductive act, and violates the premise upon which America was founded.
This book was nominated for the H.L. Mencken Award, and is an invaluable contribution to contemporary political and social thought.
"I found this book hugely entertaining and therefore dangerously instructive" - Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Laureate
"McWilliams marshalls a vast army of anecdotes, quotes, statistics and assertions to argue that America would be a lot better off if we stopped using the force of law to save each other from drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, suicide and sex in its more exotic flavors." - The New York Times
"The idea behind this book is profoundly simple and reasonable: As an adult, you should be allowed to do with your own person and property whatever you choose, as long as you don't harm the person or property of another." - The Detroit News
