The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice [Hardcover]

Bill Kurtis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2004

Bill Kurtis, anchor of the wildly popular true-crime TV series Cold Case Files and American Justice, used to support the death penalty. But after observing the machinations of the justice system for thirty years, he came to a stunning realization that changed his life: Capital punishment is wrong. There can be no real justice in America until it is abolished.

In The Death Penalty on Trial, Kurtis takes readers on his most remarkable investigative journey yet. Together, we revisit murder scenes, study the evidence, and explore the tactical decisions made before and during trials that send innocent people to death row. We examine the eight main reasons why the wrong people are condemned to death, including overzealous and dishonest prosecutors, corrupt policemen, unreliable witnesses and expert witnesses, incompetent defense attorneys, bias judges, and jailhouse informants. We see why the new jewel of forensic science, DNA, is revealing more than innocence and guilt, opening a window into the criminal justice system that could touch off a revolution of reform. Ultimately we come to a remarkable conclusion: The possibility for error in our justice system is simply too great to allow the death penalty to stand as our ultimate punishment.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After 30 years as a CBS reporter and producer, Kurtis, who now hosts American Justice on A&E, re-examines his lifelong support of the death penalty, arguing eloquently that the risk of executing the wrong person is too great to let capital punishment stand. His reflections are motivated by the 2003 actions of then governor George Ryan of Illinois, a conservative Republican who commuted the sentences of the state's 164 death row inmates. Ryan's actions followed the exoneration through DNA evidence of 13 death row inmates. Kurtis frames his argument around two trials in which the wrong men were first convicted and then exonerated. Kurtis puts his reportorial skills to work, reconstructing in detail one case involving a brutal rape/murder, and another the stabbing of a mother, her two children and another child. Kurtis uses graphic, deeply disturbing descriptions of these murders as bases for arguing that inconceivable acts of violence can create a visceral sense that the death penalty is justified. Kurtis's refusal to shrink from this reality makes his indictment all the more compelling. This is not a book about abstract notions or legal technicalities; Kurtis examines our criminal justice system and finds it too "rife with the potential for error... to make death its product."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Media celebrity and attorney Kurtis presents a carefully crafted perspective on the current state of the death penalty in America. Starting with Illinois governor George Ryan's sudden mass emptying of that state's death row, Kurtis goes on to present two case studies that illustrate the legal problems with capital punishment as currently executed in America. By choosing two specific cases, both fraught with errors in evidence, prosecutorial zeal, defense incompetence, and a host of other substantive and procedural problems, Kurtis shapes a solid, thoughtful case for his opposition to the death penalty. But by presenting as normative only these two cases, Kurtis leaves himself open to counterarguments based on other equally limited cases, such as those of John Wayne Gacy and Timothy McVeigh. Nevertheless, Kurtis' book is an important contribution to the debate on crime and punishment, and it is a strong and useful resource for students examining legal and social issues of the day. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs (November 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158648169X
• ISBN-13: 978-1586481698
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #705,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Analyzing the System, July 27, 2005

By 

Susann D. Giilbert "Susann Disbro Gilbert" (Mount Pleasant, South Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice (Hardcover)

I regularly tune into "American Justice" on A & E, so I was interested in reading this book by producer Bill Kurtis on the death penalty. Make no bones about it, Kurtis is adamantly against capital punishment. In this examination of two examples of wrongfully imprisoned men on death row, he shows why he feels so strongly about his conviction, rather than simply preaching his opinion.

The only annoying part of reading this was the narration. I'd be willing to gamble a week's wages that he dictated all of the content. It reads in the exact cadence that Kurtis speaks in: choppy sentences, and lots of colons. I could "hear" his distinct speech patterns, which is wonderful as a televised voice over, but a strange way to write in print.

That said, Kurtis' argument is solid and convincing. He carefully explains his own change of attitude regarding capital punishment; that the death penalty does nothing to deter killers, and that one person wrongly executed is one too many. Having America on the roster of countries who do implement this harsh form of punishment is not on par with the enlighted philosophy of liberty. Life in prison with no possibility of parole, especially a life in solitary confinement, is the most appropriate sentence for convicted murderers. Even if I didn't agree with the author, this examination of the American justice system is food for thought. The message comes through loud and clear, and I applaud Kurtis for tackling it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling case for abolishing the death penalty, January 24, 2005

By 

Robert P. Sommer "Bobzilla" (San Francisco, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice (Hardcover)

A onetime capital punishment supporter, award winning journalist Bill Kurtis takes readers through the in's and out's of two cases where the wrong man was convicted and sentenced to death. The cases are discussed are filled with overzealous prosecutors, inexperienced defense attorneys, suppressed evidence and more. Unfortunately these issues are common to death penalty cases. These cases are not anomalies. Kurtis recently appeared on Larry King Live where a prosecutor actually had the gall to suggest that the two cases Kurtis discusses are actually proof that the system works since the convictions were eventually overturned! Never mind that both men lost over a decade of their lives and one was literally days away from execution. Kurtis skillfully shows us that a system rife with inaccuracies is simply not good enough when someone's life is on the line.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very logical and thought out!, November 3, 2005

By 

K. Friend (Harrisburg, AR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice (Hardcover)

Whether or not you agree with the death penalty, this is a good book to check out. Kurtis gives eight solid reasons why one should be against the death penalty, and then uses two cases to back those reasons (he gives different examples on the video he has on the same subject for those who believe that only two examples are cursory).

Once a death penalty advocate himself, Kurtis changes his mind after Gov. George Ryan commutes the sentence of 164 men after DNA evidence exonerated 13 men (not 2 like the previous reader who couldn't stand it when people falsify info in book reviews said, haha). After hearing about these events, Kurtis looked deep into the judicial system to discover why so many men on death row were found innocent. The flaws he found are listed in the book.

A good read for someone who likes to strengthen their own ideas or find out what the opposition is saying. The language is easy to understand and interesting as opposed to technical. If this book doesn't make you at least think a little, you don't think! :)