Antoinette Bosco, Choosing Mercy: A Mother of Murder Victims Pleads to End the Death Penalty, Orbis Books, 2001
Highly personal story of how Catholic writer (and long time CNADP supporter) Toni Bosco coped with the murder of her son and daughter-in-law, and how she rejected vengeance and chose mercy.
Donald Cabana, Death at Midnight: Confessions of an Executioner, Northeastern University Press, 1998
Donald Cabana is the former warden at Parchman Prison in Mississippi, where he oversaw two executions in the gas chamber. The second was Connie Ray Evans, whom Cabana is now convinced was innocent. This memoir recounts his experiences and how he turned against the death penalty.
D. L. Carcara 15,543 and Counting, PublishAmerica, 2007
Many wrongs involving the administration of capital punishment in the United States are found in 15,543 and Counting. Each and every step, from the very beginning of the guilt trial to the very end of the cooling of the corpse, is addressed and accounted for in 15,543 and Counting. Among the countless informative sources are testimonies of corrections officers assigned to the care and custody of death row inmates, as well as actual quotes from death row inmates themselves.
Matthew B. Robinson, Death Nation: The Experts Explain American Capital Punishment, Prentice Hall, 2007
Death Nation: The Experts Explain American Capital Punishment illustrates the reality of capital punishment, as it is actually practiced in the United States. Findings from a study of expert opinion of capital punishment are presented, based on a survey of nationally recognized death penalty scholars.
David Dow, Executed on a Technicality: Lethal Injustice on America's Death Row, Beacon Press, 2005
Written by a Texas lawyer, this book is a detail oriented study of the flaws in the American system of capital punishment. Presents numerous concrete examples of a system more concerned with procedural niceties than with questions of guilt and innocence.
Peter Gilbert, Steve James and Gordon Quinn, At the Death House Door, 2008.
Texas Department of Corrections. During his tenure with the Department from 1982-1995, Pickett counseled 95 inmates executed by lethal injection. The film chronicles Pickett's experience and ideological transformation from supporting to opposing the death penalty. "At the Death House Door" is produced by Kartemquin Films and filmmakers Peter Gilbert, Steve James and Gordon Quinn.
James Gilligan, Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and its Causes, Vintage, 1997.
Based partly on his work as a prison psychiatrist, this book explores the causes of violent behavior and how they are exacerbated by our justice system.
John Grisham tackles nonfiction for the first time with The Innocent Man, a true tale about murder and injustice in a small town (that reads like one of his own bestselling novels). The Innocent Man chronicles the story of Ron Williamson, how he was arrested and charged with a crime he did not commit, how his case was (mis)handled and how an innocent man was sent to death row. Grisham's first work of nonfiction is shocking, disturbing, and enthralling--a must read for fiction and nonfiction fans. We had the opportunity to talk with John Grisham about the case and the book, read his responses below.
Rachel King, Don't Kill in our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out Against the Death Penalty, Rutgers University Press, 2003
Stories of families who confront the murder of a loved one and their opposition to the death penalty. Written by an ACLU lawyer and anti-death penalty activist.
Bill Kurtis, The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice, PublicAffairs, 2004
Former CBS news reporter Bill Kurtis re-examines his support for the death penalty. He was motivated to do so by Governor Ryan of Illinois and his commutation of the sentences of every prisoner on death row. He concludes that the death penalty is flawed and must be abolished.
Bill Pelke, Journey of Hope:From Violence to Healing, Xlibris, 2003
The personal story of Bill Pelke after his grandmother is brutally murdered by four teenage girls: his transformation from wanting revenge (in the form of the death penalty) to forgiveness and hope.
Picoult bangs out another ripped-from-the-zeitgeist winner, this time examining a condemned inmate's desire to be an organ donor. Freelance carpenter Shay Bourne was sentenced to death for killing a little girl, Elizabeth Nealon, and her cop stepfather. Eleven years after the murders, Elizabeth's sister, Claire, needs a heart transplant, and Shay volunteers, which complicates the state's execution plans. Meanwhile, death row has been the scene of some odd events since Shay's arrival - an AIDS victim goes into remission, an inmate's pet bird dies and is brought back to life, wine flows from the water faucets. The author brings other compelling elements to an already complex plot line: the priest who serves as Shay's spiritual adviser was on the jury that sentenced him; Shay's ACLU representative, Maggie Bloom, balances her professional moxie with her negative self-image and difficult relationship with her mother. Picoult moves the story along with lively debates about prisoner rights and religion, while plumbing the depths of mother-daughter relationships and examining the literal and metaphorical meanings of having heart. The point-of-view switches are abrupt, but this is a small flaw in an impressive book. (Amazon)
Jonathan Pincus, Basic Instincts: What Makes Killers Kill, W.W. Norton, 2002
Pincus, an academic neurologist at Georgetown, explores the biological, psychological and sociological factors at work in the minds of murders. He does so using numerous case studies.
Sr. Helen Prejean, Dead Man Walking, Vintage Books, 1994
Sr. Prejean is probably the most well-known opponent of the death penalty in America. This book recounts her experiences on Louisiana' death row ministering to prisoners. It focuses on two men whom she accompanied to their executions. Made into a major motion picture.
Sr. Helen Prejean, The Death of Innocents, Vintage Books, 2006
Recounts the stories of two men who were executed despite having strong cases for actual innocence. The second half is an overview of the death penalty in America and arguments for its abolition. More personal than analytical.
Dale Recinella, The Biblical Truth About America's Death Penalty, Northeastern University Press, 2004
Written by a lawyer turned prison minister, it provides an exhaustive overview of biblical arguments against the death penalty. Draws heavily on Talmudic interpretation of the Torah. An excellent resource for countering the prevalent but superficial argument that the Bible s teaches "an eye for an eye" and supports capital punishment.
Austin Sarat, Mercy on Trial: What it Means to Stop an Execution, Princeton University Press, 2005
A comprehensive review of executive clemency---the little used power of governors and presidents to stop and execution and commute the sentence to life in prison. Read More...
Rick Stack, Dead Wrong: Violence, Vengeance, and the Victims of Capital Punishment , Praeger Publishers, 2006
"In Dead Wrong Rick Stack reveals the human dimension of the death penalty, from the agonizing decision making on clemency by Governor Ryan to the horror of people spending years on Death Row for crimes they did not commit. Such stories need to be a critical part of our public debate on the death penalty." - Marc Mauer Executive Director The Sentencing Project
Scott Sundby, A Life and Death Decision: A Jury Weighs the Death Penalty, Palgrave MacMillan, 2005
An in-depth examination by a lawyer of the role of the juries in death penalty cases. Based on extensive interviews with jurors in capital cases. Recommended to us by Ron Gold of the public defenders office.
Scott Turow, Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing With the Death Penalty, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2003
A well-known lawyer turned novelist, Turow was asked by Governor Ryan of Illinois to serve on the commission examining the death penalty. This book recounts his reflections and his reasons for deciding that the death penalty should be abolished. Read a review of Scott Turow's Ultimate Punishment
A gripping, emotionally charged film that follows wrongfully convicted men freed by DNA evidence after decades in prison as they struggle to transition back into society.
A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death, documentary, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2006
A short video summarizing and exploring the bishops' pastoral statement of the same name. Intended as a primer for a group discussion of the death penalty from the Catholic perspective.
Dead Man Walking, Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, MGM, 1996
The critically acclaimed movie adaptation of the book by Sr. Helen Prejean.
The Empty Chair: Murder Victims' Families Confront Loss and Punishment, documentary, Justice Productions, 2003.
Examines the experiences of four families who lost a loved one to murder, beginning with the crime, and proceeding through trial, punishment and the aftermath. Covers many different perspectives on the death penalty and forces the viewer to ask pointed questions about the meaning of forgiveness.
The Exonerated, Brian Dennehy, Danny Glover, Susan Sarandon, Montery Video, 2006
Based on the powerful stage play, this minimally produced film tells the story of six men and women who were sent to death row for crimes they did not commit.
