BOOKS: ​“Condemned: Letters from Death Row”

“Condemned” is a com­pi­la­tion of the cor­re­spon­dence between Irish author Sean O’ Riain and an inmate on death row in the United States, known as ​“Ray” in the book. Riain became involved in writ­ing let­ters to a death row inmate through the Comunita di Sant’Egidio, an orga­ni­za­tion in Rome that part­ners death row inmates with pen­friends around the world. ​“Ray” is on death row for killing a man – -a crime he com­mit­ted at a young age, and now freely admits and deeply regrets. Among the many glimpses of life on death row explored in this book is ​“Ray“ ​‘s reha­bili­tion. He writes, ​“I want to prove to the nay-say­er that I can be a pro­duc­tive cit­i­zen out in the world, I’ve grown up a lot since I came here and I’d like to make the ones I’ve dis­ap­point­ed through­out my life­time proud of what I’ve become now.”

(‘Ray’ and S. O’ Riain, ​“Condemned: Letters from Death Row,” Liberties Press (2008); post­ed May 5, 2010). See Death Row. Click here for more Books on the death penalty.