Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/in-defense-of-flogging-controversy-over-prisons-and-punishment Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Story We were curious: is flogging — beating someone solidly on the behind with a wooden cane — a reasonable, effective alternative to sending that person to jail for two, five, ten years? That’s exactly what Peter Moskos, a police officer-turned-academic, argues in his new book, ‘In Defense of Flogging.’