Death Watch: A Death Penalty Anthology [Paperback]

Lane Nelson (Author), Burk Foster (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130852015 | ISBN-13: 978-0130852014 | Publication Date: August 6, 2000

Death Watch is a topical, up-to-date collection of death penalty journalism and personal essays. Drawing on the experiences and perspectives of Lane Nelson, a former death row inmate and current staff writer for "The Angolite," Louisiana's award winning prison news magazine, and Burk Foster, a University of Louisiana-Lafayette criminal justice professor and jail and prison expert witness, Death Watch looks at the death penalty as a legal process, a social reality, and a fundamental issue of public policy.The topics covered in this volume include: *how capital cases are different in the legal process *how death penalty offenders are selected *the selective application of the death penalty to women and juveniles *problems in providing competent counsel to death penalty defendants *medical issues related to organ donation and physician participation in executions *the execution of blacks for rape in the South *how the death penalty was imposed and carried out in the past *reflections on death row life by inmates under death sentence *the last words of men and women before execution *the dilemma of defending the innocent on death row *feature articles on two Louisiana inmates, Antonio James and John A. Brown, Jr., executed in 1996 and 1997 *the ethics of the death penalty today

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a very complete work...very well written. It has changed my personal belief about the death penalty."--James E Newman/Rio Hondo Community College "...it makes a reader really think more deeply about a controversial topic in our society. This work has a style of writing that very quickly captures the attention of the reader and holds it."--William E. Kelly/Auburn University "The fact that one of the authors--Lane Nelson--is a former death row inmate gives the text a credibility and perspective that is unique in sociology and criminal justice...offer the facts and perspectives from the inside in an easily accessible manner"--Charles Crawford/Western Michigan University

From the Back Cover

The topics covered in this volume include:

• how capital cases are different in the legal process
• how death penalty offenders are selected
• the selective application of the death penalty to women and juveniles
• problems in providing competent counsel to death penalty defendants
• medical issues related to organ donation and physician participation in executions
• the execution of blacks for rape in the South
• how the death penalty was imposed and carried out in the past
• reflections on death row life by inmates under death sentence
• the last words of men and women before execution
• the dilemma of defending the innocent on death row
• feature articles on two Louisiana inmates, Antonio James and John A. Brown, Jr., executed in 1996 and 1997
• the ethics of the death penalty today

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (August 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130852015
• ISBN-13: 978-0130852014
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #960,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, February 15, 2003

By 

kate casavecchia (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death Watch: A Death Penalty Anthology (Paperback)

An excellent, educated and overview of the death penalty in the U.S. Particularly of interest since one of the authors (Lane Nelson) spent 8 years on death row and survived to become an articulate, educated and productive member of society (although still incarcerated LWOP).