Books

In her book, “Lethal Punishment: Lynchings and Legal Executions in the South,” University of Memphis professor Margaret Vandiver explores the complex relationship between these two forms of punishment and challenges the assumption that executions consistently grew out of — and replaced — lynchings. Vandiver’s book examines lynchings and legal executions in three culturally and geographically distinct southern regions. First she researched rural northwest Tennessee, where lynchings outnumbered…

In “Last Words From Death Row: The Walls Unit,” Norma Herrera recounts the tribulations she and her family suffered as they worked to free her brother, Leonel, from death row in Texas. The book documents court events and press coverage of the case and captures the family’s efforts to assist Leonel prior to his execution in 1993, four months after the U.S. Supreme Court held in Herrera v. Collins that, in the absence of other constitutional violations, new evidence of innocence is no reason for…

In the Shadow of Death: Restorative Justice and Death Row Families is a new book by Professors Elizabeth Beck, Sarah Britto, and Arlene Andrews that examines the debilitating effects that a death sentence can have on the families of the offenders. With a forward by Steve Earle, the book provides an in-depth analysis of restorative justice, which focuses on crime as an act against an individual or the community, rather than the state. In their examination of how capital punishment impacts the…

The Fairer Death: Executing Women in Ohio is a new book by Victor Streib, a professor at the Ohio Northern University College of Law. The book explores Ohio’s use of the death penalty for women and examines the implications for women on death row throughout the country. Streib carefully describes the cases of all four women executed by Ohio in its history and those of the 11 women sentenced to death in the state during the modern death penalty era (1973-present). Professor Streib’s analysis of…

“Living With the Death Penalty” is a new book that examines the impact of executions on correctional officers, offenders, chaplains, attorneys, and victims’ family members. In this book, author Courtney Vaughn, a rape victim and an Educational Leadership and Policy Studies professor at the University of Oklahoma, offers first-person accounts of what it is like to experience the death penalty from a variety of perspectives. She explores the sacrifice, alienation, and resiliency that are common…

Former Texas death row inmate Kerry Max Cook has authored a book detailing his wrongful conviction and his 22-year fight for freedom. Cook’s book, “Chasing Justice,” provides a first-hand account of his trial, his two-decade stay on death row in Texas, and his release after DNA evidence linked another man to the crime for which he was sentenced to die. Publisher HarperCollins notes that the book is “a shocking look inside death row, a legal thriller, and an inspirational story of one man’s…

Corrections: A Contemporary Introduction is a new academic text being released by Allyn & Bacon publishers. Authored by Leanne F. Alarid of the University of Texas and Philip L. Reichel of the University of Northern Colorado, this resource offers a thorough examination of all aspects of the corrections area in a graphically rich format. It offers students the opportunity to think critically about the future of this field. The textbook features a chapter on Capital Punishment, along with many…

Professor Matthew Robinson of Applachian State University has written a new book entitled Death Nation: The Experts Explain American Capital Punishment. This book provides a solid yet brief background on the major issues pertaining to capital punishment in the United States. It covers topics such as the history of the death penalty in America, American death penalty law, justifications for capital punishment, as well as alleged problems with its practice. The book also presents a study of…