33 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning, January 12, 2010
This review is from: The Autobiography of an Execution (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
To those who have read this book and still stand by your position on the death penalty in America, I say your hearts are very hard indeed.
David R. Dow presents an unflinchingly honest personal account of his life, both private and public. His tone is even considering the work he does; last-minute attempts at trying to save those facing the death penalty in Texas. The most sentimental moments in this book are when he writes of his love for his young son and wife. His clients? Most are guilty, most he neither likes nor cares about, and some are innocent, and he tries not to care. Dow does cares about the law, which, in Texas, is shockingly disregarded. Dow lays out his day-to-day encounters with those who are executed, in spite of their being mentally retarded, in spite of their innocence, in spite of having lawyers who are literally asleep on the job, and because of the state of Texas, which seems not to care about the Constitution of the United States of America.
What I have just written above is far more preachy than what Dow has written. His is a heartfelt, often wrenching book, even with its almost almost noir tone. Others have said the book is rambling, not focused enough. Dow lets us see him as a whole; he has nightmares, doesn't care for famous artists, is worried about being a bad father. Yes, these and other things may seem irrelevant, but how human they are! Dow tells us again and again that he doesn't want to care, but he does. How can he and keep his sanity in the face of such poor odds, and exposed daily to death, bad law, and bad or hardened people on all sides? In Yiddish, one calls a person who can a mensch, and that is what Dow shows he is, a "real man" in the fullest sense of the word, a man with flaws and fears, and who does truly good work without much reward.
At the heart of this book is a story about one client who was probably innocent. This story unfolds amongst many, and it drew me in as well as the most suspenseful thriller. There was no happy ending, and I tried to steal myself against this possibility. This is something that Dow does on a daily basis. How he does this day after day without being an embittered, strident, or miserable human being, I can not fathom.
I had never heard of Dow before I read this book. I admit I am was not in favor of the death penalty before I picked up this somewhat ineptly named book (my only complaint). It sounded interesting, but I did not expect to like it, or be all that moved by it. I generally do not like memoirs or autobiographies. But, this book moved me deeply, and in unexpected ways. I will need time to digest it, and some of it is truly indigestible.
David R. Dow is a person that enhances my faith that people are essentially good.
This is not only a book I would recommend; it is a book I'd give to people. Please read it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
33 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A humane, slightly unfocused memoir, December 27, 2009
This review is from: The Autobiography of an Execution (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
David Dow, professor of law at the University of Houston and active legal representative of numerous deathrow inmates in Texas, offers a candid look at the way he lives around the constant impending deaths of his clients. Without being preachy, the book reveals all of the problems with the death penalty as it is administered in Texas (one of the most bloodthirsty states ). Dow has offered legal and philosophical critiques of the death penalty elsewhere; this book is more personal, and at times (as an epilogue on legal ethics provided by a colleague makes clear) Dow comes very close to transgressing against legal ethics. I found one story in particular quite questionable, since for readers in TX this book will practically be a roman a clef. His criticism of the fifth circuit is particularly intense, and one has to wonder whether this is really wise if he continues to want to work in this area. (To be fair, the fifth circuit is widely considered a notoriously problematic appeals court, even if Dow hadn't said it.)
Of 100 clients he has represented, he has won only seven times. This is a depressing professional life to be leading, and Dow makes clear the absolute drear of this aspect of his life by contrasting it with his own marriage and family. He has difficulty switching gears between the worlds of the condemned and those of the blissfully happy. At the same time, his clients do not have breaks from their confinement -- except in death -- and this fact keeps Dow going. Probably the most dominant aspect of the book is the subtle case Dow makes for the position that the innocence of many of the accused is not the major reason that the death penalty is problematic. Again and again he hammers home the point that the guilt or innocence of the accused is never considered after the original trial, and that appeals will not reverse the judgments of trials based on corrupt or incompetent attorneys, but only attempt to correct administrative errors. This is nothing new to readers familiar with US death penalty law, but Dow's storytelling makes this point clear without preaching. He also makes clear -- perhaps unintentionally -- that administrative issues and cost benefit analysis effect the decisions about lawyers like him about who and how to represent as much as they affect the decisions of the prosecutors.
My only criticism of the book is that if you at all tire of hearing Dow write about what a great father he is, you will find yourself skipping pages whenever he recounts another of the repetitive stories about how his son always forgives him when he is cross. I am glad his kid is so happy, and I think the comparison between his happy family life and the rotten lives of the death row prisoners he helps is interesting, but by the end of the book I was a bit bored with that aspect of the story telling.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
River a mile wide and an inch deep, April 4, 2010
This review is from: The Autobiography of an Execution (Hardcover)
Some critiques of this book are of David Dow's purported ego. One has to have a strong ego to do the work he does and I am grateful for it. Some readers seem to miss the reasons names and particular details were altered, despite allegiance to the story itself. (Author's note, "...I have told these stories in a way that is faithful to the truth as well as to the individuals they feature.") In this it is most believable.
Yes, it's a story about how this lawyer--principles, passion and all--balances his responsibility with living wholly himself. Painful balance. Anyone who has ever fought a "losing battle" knows how difficult it is to maintain such equilibrium.
The story of fighting for an innocent man explains most clearly why the death penalty is wrong. The lives of living individuals are regarded without value. Politics over-rides reason and compassion. Human failing is universal, whether one is a murderer or a judge.
At one point Dow refers to Sr. Helen Prejean, a committed activist against capital punishment, and her statement that support for the Death Penalty is a mile wide and an inch deep (he adds that one can die in an inch of water). Good read.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
