Back from the Dead: One Woman's Search for the Men Who Walked off America's Death Row [Hardcover]

Joan M. Cheever (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 2006

What would happen if the United States abolished the death penalty and emptied its Death Rows? If  killers were released from prison? What would they do with their second chance to live? Would they kill again?

Back From The Dead is the story of  589 former death row inmates who, through a lottery of fate, were given a second chance at life in 1972 when the death penalty was abolished; it returned to the United States four years later.

During the years she represented Walter Williams on Texas’ Death Row, Cheever always wondered what would happen if his death sentence was reversed and he was eventually  released from prison. Would he have killed again? Two years after Williams’ execution,  Cheever was determined to find the answer. Leaving her young family and comfortable life in suburbia, she traveled across the U.S. and into the lives and homes of  former Death Row inmates, armed only with a tape recorder, notepad, a cell phone that didn’t always work, and a lot of faith. In Back from the Dead , Cheever describes her own journey and reveals these tales of second chances: of tragedy and failure, racism and injustice, and redemption and rehabilitation.

Visit www.backfromthedeadusa.com to find out more.

Back From the Dead is an excellent choice for your Book Reading Group or School Group. On the website www.backfromthedeadusa.com there are questions for group discussion, as well as an 'interview with the Author'.

Joan Cheever will chat by speakerphone with any group that chooses Back From the Dead. Now you have the chance to ask your questions directly to the author. Why did Joan Cheever write this book? What was she looking for? Did she find it? How did she research Back From the Dead? What difficulties did she encounter? What was it like, interviewing and meeting former Death Row inmates? How did she leave her little children to do this? What was she feeling while on the road with The Class of '72? What was the most surprising thing she learned in writing about the men whose return address had once been: Death Row USA.

A chat with the author is FREE – just get a group of readers together and make sure you have a speakerphone and Joan Cheever will do the rest!

How to Make a Request for a Telephone Conversation with the Author
Your request for a speakerphone chat with Joan Cheever can be made through the form on this page:

http://www.backfromthedeadusa.com/book_groups_form.html

Here are the guidelines:
• Chats are scheduled between 9 AM Central and 8 PM Central time. (All time requests must be converted to Central Time.)

• You'll be asked to provide a choice of dates and times. The more dates you can provide, the easier it will be to schedule a chat. The time you request should be 30 minutes to an hour after your group begins meeting so your group has some time to settle in first.

• Leave a comment to let Joan know how you found out about the book and why you chose it for your group. Also, tell Joan a little bit about your book group – what other books you’ve been reading, the range of ages in the group, where you are from etc.

• Chats are not limited only to readers of Back From the Dead in the United States. As long as it can be scheduled within the hours listed above, Joan welcomes a conversation with readers across the globe.

• And if a chat is not possible, Joan is working on setting up an online 'Instant Message' discussion so that readers can ask the questions they have AND get an immediate response online during your meeting!

The Chat Details
Once you’ve made your request, we will be back in touch with you, usually within a few days. Together we will determine the date and time for the chat.

You will need access to a speaker telephone. Joan recommends giving it a trial run beforehand by having someone in your group dial in to that phone from outside. Make sure that you can hear her clearly—and that she can hear you from a good distance away.

Plan for Joan to call you 30 minutes to an hour after your group gets together. At that point you will have begun your discussion about Back From the Dead and Joan will be able to answer the questions from the author’s perspective!

At the appointed time, Joan will call in and for the next 30 - 45 minutes, you can put your feet up, relax and find out more about Back From the Dead, the author, her research and any news updates.

Editorial Reviews

Review

…an extraordinary achievement…bittersweet…powerful" (The Irish Independent Supplement, July 2006)

  “…amazing narrative…” (Lancashire Evening Post, August 2006)

  “…important messages shine through…” (BB Focus Magazine, August 2006)

"A fabulous book about the darker side of human nature." (South Wales Argus, October 2006)

"...this volume is essential reading...Highly recommended." ( LibraryJournal.com, 2006)

"A riveting, if emotionally unsettling, book... impassioned, heartfelt, and moving..." ( New York Law Journal, November 2006)

"...an extraordinary report..." (The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express, August 2006)

From the Inside Flap

As a young lawyer Joan Cheever served as co-counsel for Walter Williams, an inmate on Texas’ Death Row. For nine years she attempted to stave off his execution until, in October 1994, his chances finally ran out. At his request Joan stood beside him at his execution; it was an experience that changed the course of her life.

In the months following Walter’s execution Joan continued to ask herself how events might have been different: would Walter have committed the crime if he’d had better opportunities in life or a more supportive family? And how would he have lived if he had been granted a second chance at life?

The only people who could help to answer these gnawing questions were other convicted murderers. In 1972, the US Supreme Court abolished the death penalty: a ruling that stayed in place until 1976, granting hundreds of convicted killers a second chance at life. Joan embarked on an exhaustive and dangerous search to track down and interview these murderers, most of whom didn’t want to be found. Many had built entirely new lives and had become valued members of their communities; a very small number had killed again. Joan Cheever interviewed the murderers to find out if they had managed to rebuild their lives; she also spoke with the families of victims. The personal stories that she tells here contribute to a ground-breaking exploration of the issues at the very heart of the capital punishment debate. 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (July 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470017503
• ISBN-13: 978-0470017500
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,262,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtprovoking, shocking and brutaly honest..., September 2, 2006

By 

Katrina D. Mukherjee (San Antonio, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Back from the Dead: One Woman's Search for the Men Who Walked off America's Death Row (Hardcover)

As a 'Moderate Conservative', my interest in this book was initially based only on two factors 1) the author was a native San Antonian and 2) the statistical analysis approach appealed to the math major in me.

With that said, I can now say I have rarely read a book that caused me to examine my own deeply held beliefs, prejudices and opinions so honestly. Much like the authors mother, I have allways subscribed to the concept of 'an eye for an eye' and have believed in the good 'ol Texas version of justice.

Mrs. Cheever very carefully and very methodically tracked down, researched and interviewed men that our justice system said should now be dead. She very candidly discusses those that the justice system may have been right about (those that continued to kill and commit crimes). But she also takes us into the homes and lives of men who were in fact 'rehabilitated' and lived (and still live) productive, law-abiding and loving lives. However, she does not glamorize those men, nor does she excuse the crimes they committed. At all times, she keeps the reader aware of the innocent lives that were lost and the family's that still deal with the grief of those losses.

She raises the very valid question -can those sentenced to death as 'no hope for rehabilitation' actually be rehabilitated? While the justice system and arm-chair psychiatrists have strong opinions - Mrs. Cheever has used actual facts to unquestionably prove that 'Yes' it can be done and has been done.

Due to a brief stay of execution afforded these men - the world has the opportunity to see what became of their lives - lives that should not have continued based on the death sentence they received for their crimes.

After finishing the book, I cannot honestly say that I am yet opposed to the death penalty as a set-in-stone rule. However, I can say that I was immensely moved by both her passion, her words and her research. I can also say that I am glad that those men who were 'rehabilitated' were able to live their lives giving back to the communities, schools and church's that believed in them.

The American Public has been given a great book to explore complex and painful ideas - I only hope that we take the opportunity to learn what lessons lie in it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Account of the Class of '72, July 26, 2006

By 

Roger C. Barnes (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Back from the Dead: One Woman's Search for the Men Who Walked off America's Death Row (Hardcover)

Lawyer and journalist Joan Cheever has written a remarkable account of the "class of 72," the Death Row prisoners whose death sentences were invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Furman v. Georgia.

Ms. Cheever sets out to answer some compelling questions. Where are these prisoners today? Of the 587 men and 2 women in the class of '72, how many are out of prison? How many killed again? Could any of the group be rehabilitated? What do they teach us about the death penalty?

Joan Cheever sets out on a detective-like journey, and by the time this saga reaches its conclusion, she has taken the reader through much of the death penalty experience. This is a truly human story, and it is important to remember the fact that it is human beings who sit on our Death Rows, even if we frequently transform them into "monsters." In short, Back From The Dead is a story for anybody interested in the death penalty, no matter whether one is for it or against it.

Most readers will find this book to be a true "page turner." Consider the opening paragraph from chapter one:

"It was 85 degrees that night in Huntsville, Texas. I sat alone in a booth at the McDonald's, off IH-45, drinking coffee and picking at a plate of greasy French fries, staring at the clock on the wall. The clock ticked too slowly for me, but too quickly for Walter Williams, my 32-year-old client, who sat alone just a mile away, in his cell on Death Row. We were both waiting for midnight."

What a great opener! Crisp and compelling. And what follows sustains the drama and intrigue. Ms. Cheever has done first-rate research in tracking down the class of '72, and the story that unfolds in Back From The Dead is brilliantly written and her analysis is most solid. I highly recommend this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Read!, July 21, 2006

By 

Zippi Keil (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back from the Dead: One Woman's Search for the Men Who Walked off America's Death Row (Hardcover)

An insider's riveting walk into the minds of Death Row inmates. Ms. Cheever gives a thought-provoking, yet compassionate story of The Class of '72, inmates whose destiny changed with the Supreme Court decision. Flecked with humor and sincerity, Ms. Cheever enlightens her readers with such a natural stance in her writing that her reader feels she is accompanying her on her mission. A page turner, for sure. Ms. Cheever has definitely hit the mark with Back From the Dead and makes one think hard about capital punishment. A terrific read!