Books

Five books addressing religion and its role in coping with violent crime are now available: “Healing Violent Men: A Model for Christian Communities” — This book by religion professor David Livingston explores domestic violence. It offers practical advice for pastoral and programmatic efforts to embrace the twin Christian imperatives of forgiveness and responsiblity. (Fortress Press, 2002). “When Violence is No Stranger: Pastoral Counseling with Survivors of Acquaintance Rape” — In this book…

Katherine Norgard’s recent book, “Hard to Place: A Crime of Alcohol,” is a personal account of the trauma experienced by her family when her adopted son is charged with a capital crime. The book is the author’s story of fighting to save her son after he was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of an elderly couple in Tuscon, Arizona. At the time of his trial, she still did not know that her son, John Eastlack, had been born with fetal alcohol syndrome, despite his signs of mental illness. The…

“A Meal to Die For” is a short story by Professor Robert Johnson examining capital punishment through the eyes of a man approaching his execution. The story is part of The Crying Wall and Other Prison Stories, a larger collection of short stories by a variety of authors. In “A Meal to Die For,” Johnson weaves the death row prisoner’s last meal with the gradual process of lethal injection, resulting in a painful death. Robert Johnson is a Professor of Justice, Law and Society at American…

A new book by Michael Meltsner, The Making of a Civil Rights Lawyer, provides a personal history of the civil rights movement from the perspective of an attorney committed to social change. Meltsner’s writings bring to life a seminal period of legal reform in U.S. history. The book discusses famous cases and the turning points in the civil rights and death penalty movements. Stephen Bright of the Southern Center for Human Rights notes, “Michael Meltsner has performed a great public service by…

Wounds That Do Not Bind: Victim-based Perspectives on the Death Penalty, a new book by James R. Acker and David Reed Karp, examines how family members and advocates for victims address the impact of capital punishment. The book presents the personal stories of victims’ family members and their interactions with the criminal justice system. It also examines the relevant areas of legal research, including the use of victim impact evidence in capital trials, how capital punishment affects victims’…

In his new book, Death by Design: Capital Punishment as a Social Psychological System, Craig Haney argues that capital punishment, and particularly the events that lead to death sentencing itself, are maintained through a system that distances and disengages people from the true nature of the task. Haney, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, relies on his own research and that other of other scientists in approaching the question, “How can normal, moral people…

Truth Be Told: Life Lessons From Death Row features correspondence between Agnes Vadas and Richard Nields, who is on death row in Ohio. The book contains letters exchanged between the two over six years. They discuss a wide range of topics, including life on death row, how they have coped with challenges in life, and the lessons they have learned from hardship. Agnes Vadas is a musician and human rights activist from Washington. (AuthorHouse, 2005). See Books.

Capital Consequences: Families of the Condemned Tell Their Stories is a new book by Rachel King of the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project. The book focuses on the impact that the death penalty has on the families of those who have been condemned to die. King, who also wrote Don’t Kill in Our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out Against the Death Penalty, describes these individuals as the unseen victims of capital punishment and highlights the experience of having loved ones on death row…

“Hidden Victims,” a new book by sociologist Susan F. Sharp of the University of Oklahoma, examines the impact of capital punishment on the families of those facing execution. Through a series of in-depth interviews with families of the accused, Sharp illustrates from a sociological standpoint how family members and friends of those on death row are, in effect, indirect victims of the initial crime. The book emphasizes their responses to sentencing, as well as how they grieve and face an…