A new book by Clive Stafford Smith, a British lawyer who has defend­ed death row inmates in the U.S., offers an in-depth view of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment in America. In Injustice: Life and Death in the Courtrooms of America, Stafford Smith exam­ines the case of Kris Maharaj, a British cit­i­zen who was sen­tenced to death in Florida for a dou­ble mur­der, to expose prob­lems in the jus­tice sys­tem. The book reveals dis­turb­ing details of Maharaj’s case, includ­ing anom­alies in the pros­e­cu­tion files – wit­ness­es with excul­pa­to­ry tes­ti­mo­ny who were nev­er called, fal­si­fied and sup­pressed evi­dence, and reports that a wit­ness to the shoot­ings failed a lie detec­tor test. Maharaj’s death sen­tence was lat­er com­mut­ed to life with­out parole. Stafford Smith is the Legal Director of Reprieve, which pro­vides legal assis­tance in death penal­ty cas­es. In 2005 he received the Gandhi International Peace Award. He was a founder of the Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center, defend­ing death row inmates in that state.

(C. Stafford Smith, ​“Injustice: Life and Death in the Courtrooms of America,” Harvill Secker, July 2012). Read more books on the death penalty.

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