Don't Kill in Our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out against the Death Penalty [Hardcover]

Rachel King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2003

"Rachel King offers us the stories of families who understand the powerful reality that taking another life in the name of justice only perpetuates the tragedy. I encourage others to read these stories to better understand their journey from despair and anger to some level of peace and even forgiveness."--Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking Could you forgive the murderer of your husband? Your mother? Your son? Families of murder victims are often ardent and very public supporters of the death penalty. But the people whose stories appear in this book have chosen instead to forgive their loved ones' murderers, and many have developed personal relationships with the killers and have even worked to save their lives. They have formed a nationwide group, Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation (MVFR), to oppose the death penalty. MVFR members are often treated as either saints or lunatics, but the truth is that they are neither. They are ordinary people who have responded to an extraordinary and devastating tragedy with courage and faith, choosing reconciliation over retribution, healing over hatred. Believing that the death penalty is a form of social violence that only repeats and perpetuates the violence that claimed their loved ones' lives, they hold out the hope of redemption even for those who have committed the most hideous crimes. Weaving third-person narrative with wrenching first-hand accounts, King presents the stories of ten MVFR members. Each is a heartrending tale of grief, soul searching, and of the challenge to choose forgiveness instead of revenge. These stories, which King sets in the context of the national discussion over the death penalty debate and restorative versus retributive justice, will appeal not only to those who oppose the death penalty, but also to those who strive to understand how people can forgive the seemingly unforgivable. Rachel King is a legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington national office where she lobbies on crime policy. She is currently working on a book about the families of death row inmates.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

King, a lawyer with the ACLU and an anti-death-penalty activist, tells the haunting stories of families touched by murder. Instead of seeking the death penalty for the convicts, these family members forcefully and poignantly oppose it: they "reject the concept of retribution and believe that no one is beyond redemption," says King. The gruesome murders vary widely, but a number of threads link the survivors. In each case, he or she tries to understand the forces that might lead a person to commit murder. And in just about every case, grisly details emerge about the murderer's background-such as abandonment and abuse. Instead of focusing on their rage, the survivors strive to feel compassion for the murderers-and their families-and to communicate this compassion to them. Many of the survivors evoke God as a reason for their opposition to the death penalty. Says Marietta Jaeger, about her rapport with the man who savagely murdered her seven-year-old daughter: "I believe that God was loving him through me... desperately needed the love and compassion I felt for him." Says Ron Carlson, whose sister was axed to death, "I don't think the Son of God would destroy his own father's creation." Particularly disturbing are stories that involve the sentencing to death of retarded convicts and juveniles, as well as one man who was ultimately proven innocent. The testimony of families of murder victims is key to anti-death penalty campaigners, and these moving accounts might touch readers who are wavering on the issue. 18 b&w illus.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

King, a lawyer and anti-death-penalty lobbyist, spent more than a year interviewing people who lost family members to murder but managed to forgive the killers and oppose the death penalty. Contrary to widely broadcast images of the families of murder victims supporting the death penalty, these people have publicly declared their opposition, provoking anger in their families and among prosecutors. In their own words, the interview subjects recall the circumstances of the murder, memories of their loved ones, and their personal journeys to forgiveness of the murderers and their own public stance against capital punishment. King puts into context the controversy surrounding the death penalty, including the Illinois moratorium brought about by investigations exonerating 13 death-row inmates. These are heart-wrenching stories that tell of chilling encounters with murderers and kidnappers and heartbreaking struggles with other family members. King effectively explores both the personal and the public aspects of this controversial social issue and relates how a project focused on the death penalty evolved into an examination of forgiveness and healing in the wake of family tragedy. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (January 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813531829
• ISBN-13: 978-0813531823
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,237,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Wonderful And Amazing Book - Hopeful For Our Future, January 3, 2005

By 

G. Reid (Roseland, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don't Kill in Our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out against the Death Penalty (Hardcover)

This wonderful book brings hope to an American Society that has been becoming more violent. The title "Don't Kill in Our Names" speaks to the problem we all face when the government carries out capital punishment in our names when many of us are opposed to capital punishment in our civilized society. More specifically, this book addresses the wishes of murder victims own family members who see the folly in wanting retribution(revenge). Some family members achieve better mental health and healing by searching for forgiveness and reaching out to the perpetrators rather than seeking retribution as the only answer.

This book will open your eyes and your mind with stories of personal strength and forgiveness. This book is a powerful statement against the death penalty as we meet some murder victims' families who believe it continues the cycle of killing to no one's betterment.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A provocative engaging novel, May 12, 2003

By 

Jeff Willey (Alexandria, Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Kill in Our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out against the Death Penalty (Hardcover)

As someone who does applied research
science and engineering, I didn't think
that the death penalty would have much interest
to me. However, I couldn't put this book
down once I started. I finished it after
a ~5 hour reading marathon.

King's book touches on another world that I have
little contact with. I was a bit overwhelmed with
the frank discussion of the violent murders followed
by the saintly behavior of some of the families,
including Gus & Audrey Lamm, Linda & Ami White,
and Azim Khamisa. The healing aspect of forgiveness
has an important message for our personal lives
as well as the debate at the national political
and foreign policy levels.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Redeeming, March 2, 2004

By 

Suzanna (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Don't Kill in Our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out against the Death Penalty (Hardcover)

As someone who has had mixed feelings about the death pentalty, this book opened my eyes and my mind. It accounts truly amazing, stories of personal strength and forgiveness that are beyond comprehension to those of us who haven't been in their shoes, but should consider the possibility. I was enlighted that there are after all, human beings that are capable of reaching such an extraordinary level of compassion in the wake of such personal tragedy.