Customer Reviews

Death and Justice

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4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I too have been a dyed in the wool "death penalty advocate". While the read seemed like an investigative report at times (given the authors background and the books subject matter this isn't all bad) it opened the door to a world most of us civilians rarely if ever see. How many of us hold doctors, police, clergy and other professions to a standard (absolute perfection) that doesn't exist in our own professions or personal lives. Mr. Furhman has been able to shed light on the humanity (and all its fragilness) that exists in the life and death decisions made in our courts. Mind opening and thought provoking.

The issue discussed is not merely whether or not these people were guilty; the issue is the mismanagement of the crime lab in Oklahoma County. The DA appeared to know that Ms. Gilchrist was distorting facts and manipulating evidence, yet he was so intent on gaining a conviction, he participated in this travesty called the Oklahoma county judicial system. He should have been disbarred at the very least, and charged with criminal conspiracy. As a person who lives in this state but does not personally believe in the death penalty, I tried to read this with an open mind. Anti-death penalty advocates are not saying these criminals should be allowed to roam free in our society. They should absolutely be imprisoned for the remainder of their lives, so they can hurt no one else. DNA evidence lessens the chance of the "wrong" person being convicted, as long as it is used correctly. Surely even the strongest supporter of the death penalty has no desire to see innocent people put to death.

I enjoyed this book and the in-depth look at the criminal justice system in Oklahoma County. The writing - as in Fuhrman's other books - was top notch. The book attempts to show us - through a series of criminal cases - how the death penalty in Oklahoma County may be overused, particularly by one Bob Macy (the county DA). At times I did feel like this was mostly an expose of Bob Macy and his crime lab assistant, Joyce Gilchrist. While I did come away with a feeling of dislike for both the work of Macy and Gilchrist I'm still not convinced that the death penalty is wrong. Fuhrman looked at isolated cases in just one county, and in a rather unpopulous state at that. The book was good, but I missed the "detectiveness" that was in all of Fuhrman's other books. I felt in this book that he was just relaying a series of events that I could read about anywhere, whereas in his other books he was an active searcher/researcher on the trail of something much more interesting and less mainstream. I also expected more interplay between him and the local townspeople, but we really aren't told how he went about his research, and there isn't much dialogue between him and anyone else. I will look forward to his next book but hope it is something more `detective-like' and not something written on topic that anyone could have done.

I wish I could make every Okla. Co. citizen read DEATH AND JUSTICE. It might not change their mind regarding the death penalty, but it surely rocks the foundation of sand their arguement stands on. This book should be read by every person who is interested in the death penalty (pro or con).

The only problem with the book is that if the reader is not familiar with criminal procedure, the book may seem a bit confusing at times. But, press through it! It all makes sense in the end!

As an objective look at the criminal process, this book fails. The author offers his opinions in how case should be handled-however, one could argue he is well qualified being a police officer. This book is an excellent account of flaws in the criminal justice system that lead all the way to death row. He looks specifically at oklahoma countie's frontier justice attitude and the danger it poses to innocent human life. He writes with sympathy for the prosecutors and their flaws and the same time building a case against the death penalty. The book is if you will a death-penalty advocate conversion to a opponet. Its a fascinating book that seriously changed my views on the death penalty.

As I watched the trial in 1995 I was completely dumbstruck when I saw how Mark Fuhrman was treated just to take the focus off of a "Legend" (more like a legend in his own mind). Law Enforcement lost a good investigator when he got canned for the perjury charge, which was contrived, to say the least. Mark puts forth a persuasive argument against the death penalty, but as a Christian I understand that murder is a sin and the Bible says that we are to obey the law of the land, and that law is that murder is against the law.

My only complaint against the death penalty is when an innocent man is condemned to die or is executed.

Mark Fuhrman is a master at True Crime Books. I had never heard of these cases before. Fuhrman examines a high % of people put to Death in Oklahoma in one County by 1 DA and with most of the forensic evidence verified by 1 or 2 females. Because of either bias or incompetence Joyce Gilchrist made false and/or misleading statements that led to Guilty verdicts in Death Penalty Cases in Oklahoma County (Oklahoma City.) Fortunately some of the verdicts were overturned. Prior to reading this boos I (as was Fuhrman) was a strong supporter of the Death Penalty. These cases changed Fuhrman's mind. There is one great quote in the book, to paraphrase " since Humans make mistakes there has to be a way to correct the mistakes". (Obviously if a person is put to death the mistake can not be corrected.)

Everyone who is in favor of the death penalty ought to read this!!!!They may change their minds!! Oklahoma ought to be ashamed.I am glad my immigrant grandparents left that awful state.

This book is wonderful and thought provoking. If we incarcerate someone who indeed is an innocnet person, they can be let out of prison if they are found to be innocent. Once they are killed through the death penalty, we can't bring them back to life. For the sake of the admitedly very few who are wrongly convicted and for the sake of their families, even though their numbers might be very few, let's abolish the death penalty. I just can not understand the reasoning for the death penalty if even one single person across the country has ever been sentenced to death for a crime that they didn't do. For those who believe in the death penalty, how would you feel if you or your own son or daughter stood the chance of being wrongly convicted of a crime and the punishment was death? How would you feel if there was a conviction and death was the punishment? You would probably be against the death penalty if that occured. Since that would probably be the case, how is it ok to give someone else the death penalty realizing that this is a person who is someone else's son or daughter who might be innocent of the crime? Do we believe that if it's our own son or daughter who might be wrongly convicted there definitely should not be a death penalty, however, if it's sommeone else's son or daughter who might be wrongly convicted and sentenced to death, this is just a chance that has to be taken? How moral is that? Besides all of this, only the Lord has the authority to take a life. Since when has He relinquished this authority to us? He hasn't. Read this book. Abolish the death penalty. We can let an innocent person out of prison. We can't raise an innocent person from the dead.

Mark Fuhrman has investigated the death penalty as applied in Oklahoma County with his usual thoroughness, dedication, and attention to detail.

Death and Justice is a startling and disturbing look at what happens to a criminal justice system when it is run by incompetent, lazy, and immoral people. Robert Macy, the Oklahoma County District Attorney, and Joyce Gilchrist, the overseer of the Oklahoma County Crime Lab, were more interested in racking up kills than they were in even bothering to determine whether or not the right person had been arrested.

The only thing that mattered was sending someone -- anyone -- to death row so that the careers of these lazy and astoundingly immoral people could be furthered.

Many of the people who were convicted on the, in my opinion, falsified reports and testimony that came from Joyce Gilchrist, and the twisted facts of Robert Macy were the scum of the earth. There is no doubt about that. It is, however, manifestly wrong to convict someone of a crime he did not commit, and it is beyond immoral to sentence someone to death for a crime he did not do.

Like Mark Fuhrman, I had always been a proponent of the death penalty. However, if this is an example of the way it is administered, there is no doubt in my mind that it should be abolished immediately.

If you would like a good look at what happens when a criminal justice system becomes plain downright criminal, I suggest you read Death and Justice.