Buy Anti-Death Penalty Books and DVDs

My reviews of anti-death penalty books and DVDs. 4 stars is an exceptional book. 3 stars is a good one. 2 stars is OK, but boring in parts. 1 star is a book I didn't like! Buy these books and DVDs on my Amazon.com affiliates aStore by clicking on the links! A small portion of the sale will come back to Anti-Death Penalty Information through Amazon.com's Associates program. Click here to learn more about the program.
NEW! Chasing Justice 3 1/2 stars The subtitle to this book is: "My Story of Freeing Myself After 2 Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit." It's the true-life story of Kerry Max Cook, who has appeared on "Larry King Live" and whose story is included in the play and movie "The Exonerated." It is an unbelievable story! He is railroaded by the Texas legal system in the 1970s, and spends over 20 years on Death Row. A horrific murder of a girl gets pinned on him, instead of on her married boyfriend who very likely committed the crime, because he has a previous record of car theft as a juvenile, knew the girl and left a fingerprint at her apartment, works at a gay bar and can't afford a good lawyer. Oddly, his gay friendships are used to paint him as a killer of women. The Texas DA's tell the jury he is frustrated that he can't get excited by women. The state of Texas also repeatedly has fingerprint "experts" testify that Kerry's fingerprint is 6 hours old, when in fact it is impossible to age fingerprints. If you are squeamish, you might want to skip Kerry's honest accounts of prison rapes. Buy Chasing Justice on Amazon.com.
Bloodsworth 3 1/2 stars Kirk Bloodsworth has been on "Larry King Live" and other shows telling about his false imprisonment for a child's rape and murder in Maryland and how DNA freed him. His book is short and to-the-point. You learn about life on a violent death row, about how eyewitness accounts are shaky and easily influenced by pre-trial publicity, about the underhanded dealings of the police, FBI and DA and how the science of DNA can set everything straight. There is also a surprise at the end of the book about the identity of the real killer! Buy Bloodsworth on Amazon.com.
Proximity to Death 1 1/2 stars A difficult book to read because of the author's writing style. The author follows a group of anti-death penalty lawyers who help death row prisoners with their appeals. He covers 3 appeals cases (where you argue that something went wrong at the original trial). He also goes to prison and meets a few death row prisoners in person. Buy Proximity to Death on Amazon.com.
Almost Midnight 1 1/2 stars This book is about a hillbilly meth dealer from Missouri who kills 3 people out of fear (one is a major drug dealer who has threatened his life). At the end of the book, the Pope visits the state and asks the governor not to perform any executions during his visit. Unexpectedly, the governor cancels the execution and changes the sentence to life in prison. Most of the book covers the crime and life on the run. Buy Almost Midnight on Amazon.com.
The Exonerated (movie) 3 stars This DVD is taped as if you are watching a play, with only the actor on the stage talking about his/her life. The actors are playing people wrongfully convicted and put on Death Row. All were later exonerated, set free. The stories are compelling. Buy The Exonerated DVD on Amazon.com.
The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice 2 1/2 stars Written by the host of the TV show Cold Case Files, this book is quite short. It quickly covers 2 death penalty trials. It shows how easily innocent people can get convicted on scanty evidence by prosecutors who have more money to spend on the investigation and more talent to sell their case to the juries. Most defense attorneys who handle death penalty cases have no extra training and get paid very little by the state to defend the poor. The author argues that the U.S. trial system makes too many mistakes to be used as a death sentence. Buy The Death Penalty on Trial on Amazon.com.
Circumstantial Evidence: Death, Life and Justice in a Southern Town 4 stars Winner of the Edgar Award for Best True Crime Book of the year. I couldn't put this book down! It recounts a murder in a small Southern town in the 1980s. A black man is sent to Death Row for the crime, even though he had a host of witnesses who saw him at a fish fry that afternoon. Jailhouse snitches make deals with the local D.A. to get out of prison early in exchange for "information" on local crimes. Their versions of the crime change with each re-telling, yet their testimony was the circumstantial evidence used to convict the black man. Not until the very end of the book do you learn who the real killer probably is (he's never been charged with the crime). Buy Circumstantial Evidence on Amazon.com.
Death at Midnight: The Confession of an Executioner 4 stars A very entertaining book about one man's career in the prison system. He starts off as a prison guard in Mississippi in the 1970s, when the only prison in the state is a glorified cotton plantation where prisoners work all day out in the fields under the watchful eye of armed guards on horseback. He returns to this prison, Parchman, in the 1980s to be its warden, and it becomes his responsibility to operate the gas chamber. After personally killing a friendly death row inmate that he liked, he becomes an anti-death penalty proponent. Buy Death at Midnight on Amazon.com.
The Death of Innocents 2 stars This new book by Sister Helen Prejean of Dead Man Walking fame held my interest in the first few chapters but I couldn't finish the rest of the book. The early chapters tell the stories of Dobie Gillis and Joseph O'Dell, both of whom were very likely innocent but couldn't get massive problems in their original trials corrected through the appeals process. The rest of the book wanders from retelling the Dead Man Walking story to wondering what the Pope and the U.S. justice system will do in the future regarding the death penalty. Buy Death of Innocents on Amazon.com.
Dead Man Walking 2 stars Made famous by the movie of the same name with Sean Penn, this book is written by Sister Helen Prejean (Louisiana French name: pray-shawn) who counsels inmates on death row with imminent execution dates. The book follows 2 men put to death in the electric chair at Angola Prison (no longer in use) and includes her witnessing the executions. I didn't learn anything new. Buy Dead Man Walking on Amazon.com.
Desire Street: True Story of Death and Deliverance in New Orleans 3 1/2 stars About a man freed from Death Row because of withheld evidence. Describes life in the violent New Orleans jail and life on Death Row in the infamous Angola prison. Also gives a true glimpse into life in the projects, full of drugs and crime, and the racism inherent in the Southern police force and DA's office. Buy Desire Street on Amazon.com.
Debating the Death Penalty 2 1/2 stars Each chapter is written by either a proponent of or an activist against the death penalty. Buy Debating the Death Penalty on Amazon.com.
Forgiving the Dead Man Walking 3 stars Written by the real woman raped and left for dead by the murderer profiled in the movie Dead Man Walking (she isn't mentioned in the movie since she was a minor at the time of the crime). After the execution, she progresses from being for the death penalty to being against it. Buy Forgiving the Dead Man Walking on Amazon.com.