Anderson, David C. 1942-2005

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Anderson, David C. 1942-2005
(David Charles Anderson)

PERSONAL:

Born October 30, 1942, in Washington, DC; died of cancer, September 15, 2005, in New York, NY; married Martha Bennett Walker (divorced); children: Mary Walker, Michael Ebert, Sarah Bennett, Thomas David; married Elizabeth Burke Gilmore; children: Elspeth Michaela Burke Gilmore, William Wallace Burke Gilmore. Education: Oberlin College, B.A., 1964.

CAREER:

Journalist. Peace Corps, Costa Rica, 1964-67; Wall Street Journal,Chicago, IL, reporter, editorial writer, 1968-70, New York, NY, 1970-73; New York Times, New York, NY, reporter, 1973-77, editorial board, 1981-93; Criminal Justice Publications, New York, NY, 1977-81; Ford Foundation, director of communications, 1999-2003.

WRITINGS:

Children of Special Value: Interracial Adoption in America, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1971.

Crimes of Justice: Improving the Police, the Courts, the Prisons, Times Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Crime and the Politics of Hysteria: How the Willie Horton Story Changed American Justice, Times Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Sensible Justice: A Guide to Alternative Sanctions, New Press (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Thomas D. Anderson) The No-Salt Cookbook: Reduce or Eliminate Salt without Sacrificing Flavor, Adams Media (Avon, MA), 2001.

Contributor to such publications as the New York Times, American Prospect, and the Wall Street Journal.

SIDELIGHTS:

Journalist David C. Anderson got his start as a reporter and editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal and then went on to work for the New York Times as an editor of the Sunday magazine section, and as part of Criminal Justice Publications, which issued magazines for law enforcement workers. Anderson's first book, Children of Special Value: Interracial Adoption in America, was inspired by his own experiences adopting children with his first wife, Martha Bennett Walker. The couple adopted two girls and two boys during the course of their marriage, all of the children reflecting varied racial heritage.

An interest in crime prevention, prison reform, and gun controlis evident in much of Anderson's work. In Crime and the Politics of Hysteria: How the Willie Horton Story Changed American Justice, Anderson addressed the ways in which American crime policies and politics are the result of demand for harsher penalties and lead to increased spending on punishment over prevention. The case of Willie Horton illustrates the potential for rehabilitation, and how mismanagement can lead to incorrect assumptions about the process. Horton was sentenced to life in prison, yet was able to participate in a number of furloughs, or home leaves, after serving ten years. However, when Horton was ultimately released, little was done to insure that he would segue into society without falling back into his previous criminal habits. As a result, he not only committed another crime but actually escalated his antisocial behavior. The furlough program ultimately took the blame for the incident. Jerome H. Skolnick, in a review for American Prospect, called Anderson's effort a "lucid and powerful book." In a review for Booklist, Mary Carroll remarked that Anderson "argues eloquently that ‘expressive justice’ can only delay real crime control."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Prospect, March-April, 1996, Jerome H. Skolnick, review ofCrime and the Politics of Hysteria: How the Willie Horton Story Changed American Justice, p. 89.

Booklist, July, 1995, Mary Carroll, review of Crime and the Politics of Hysteria, p. 1840; January 1, 1998, Mary Carroll, review of Sensible Justice: A Guide to Alternative Sanctions, p. 748.

Publishers Weekly, May 1, 1995, review of Crime and the Politics of Hysteria, p. 47.