Sanaz Alasti

Sanaz Alasti () is an Iranian law professor and writer. Dr. Sanaz Alasti who was born in Tehran, Iran, is an author and academic in the field of comparative Criminal Justice systems. She is an expert in penology and the role of religion in criminal punishment. Dr. Alasti is the author of 7 books and numerous articles on various aspects of comparative criminal justice & penology. Her influential book Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Comparative Perspective in International Conventions, the United States and Iran (Vandeplas Publication, 2009) and her other writings and interviews on the subject have been featured in professional organizations and New Yorker Magazine and others. Her paper on stoning and comparison with Jewish law and practice is an important to a very thin study.
Education and Career
Sanaz Alasti is an assistant professor of Law and Criminal Justice at Lamar University: Texas State University. She has recently completed her Postdoctoral research at Harvard law school. She awarded a Fellowship from Harvard law school for her research on Comparative Study of Capital Punishment. She previously taught the following courses: Criminology, Legal Research, Legal Writing, Introduction to Criminal Justice System, Corrections and Capital Punishment. She served at ACLU of Northern California and subsequently worked on a project analyzing the relationship between sentencing outcomes and racial characteristics in homicide cases charged and sentenced in Tulare County, CA at Habeas Corpus Resource Center. Dr. Alasti received a S.J.D. (Scientiae Juridicae Doctor) from Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco, California; after obtaining LL.M (Master of Laws) in criminal law & criminology from Tehran University, and her LL.B (Bachelor of Laws) with Honors in Tehran, Iran.
Books
* Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Comparative Perspective in International Conventions, the United States and Iran, Vandeplas Publication, Florida, US, March 2009
* Criminal Law & Criminology Dictionary, Mizan Publication, Tehran, Iran, winter 2009
* Pioneer Criminologists, Mizan Publication, Tehran, Iran, winter 2009
* Translator, Crime & Punishment: A History of the Criminal Justice system, Mitchel Roth (Translation), Vol. 1, Mizan Publication, Tehran, Iran, summer 2006
* Translator, Crime & Punishment: A History of the Criminal Justice system, Mitchel Roth (Translation), Vol. 2, Mizan Publication, Tehran, Iran, fall 2007
* Co-Translator, Oxford History of Prison: The Practice of Punishment in Western Society, Norval Morris, David J. Rothman (Translation, Collective Work) Mizan Publication, Tehran, Iran, winter 2005
* Criminal Infringement of Copyright, Mizan Publication, Tehran, Iran, winter 2004
Controversy
Dr. Sanaz Alasti has recently been the subject of controversy on the basis of her belief that Palestinians in the West Bank should be forcibly removed. Her argument rests on the proposition that the West Bank is the home of the Israeli Jews as promised to them in the Torah. She has similarly argued that pro-Palestinian supporters in Iran ought to be specifically targeted and deported.
Abolition of the Death Penalty
Dr. Sanaz Alasti has been very active in the movement for worldwide abolition of capital punishment, and currently working on: "Teaching Abolition" a project proposing death penalty curriculum to stimulate broader exploration and discussion of capital punishment topics in law schools. Alasti attended numerous conferences in the US, Middle East and Europe to discuss the arbitrariness of capital punishment. She has recently been invited to Italy to provide instruction to military officers, legal advisors, political and policy advisors on Islamic Criminal Justice Systems at a seminar hosted by NATO School. Dr. Alasti has contributed breakthroughs to understanding the cultural and religious foundations of criminal justice systems that allow for very different treatment of crime and punishment.

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