There are three perspectives worth considering: why would a criminal willingly reoffend violently, knowing it would mean his return to prison? (This is the aspect of the book that deals closely with actual criminal justice system in America and the correctional institutions here). Then there are the points of view of each victim of Jason's aggravated rape, and finally, there is the unique victimhood of Shannon herself, burned for trying to give someone a second chance, betrayed by a husband who would rather rape two strangers and spend his life in prison instead of staying with his new wife.
Ultimately, the account ends up being a balancing act where Shannon tries to keep all these points of view in circulation in her own life, and she sometimes fails, playing the victim. That's not a pretty feature of the story, since there are two real rape victims who are being overlooked in some ways, but that's precisely the value of the book—terrible acts of crime pit the interests of the community against each other. It's a testament to how much damage one person can do.
But more importantly, it's a statement of regret that America's justice system cares more about punitive measures than rehabilitation. For instance, the prison system doesn't exactly send its prisoners back into the world with much to work with. Often people come out on very restrictive parole terms, and as felons, it's often nearly impossible to reintegrate into society. The challenges of dealing with real life after jail is simply one that many prisoners won't endure. They'll choose to reoffend and go back to jail.
This brokenness speaks for itself, but again, the most important tragedy in the story is the story of the two women who were hatefully raped by a violent man. Moroney's story was met with considerable controversy.
