Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

Actually a book that emphasizes an unfortunately rarely heard word, "forgiveness". As difficult as it may be, perhaps that is the ideal this civilized, advanced and cultured society ought to strive for. It's too bad there are too few actual Christians left in the world who take a message and actually attempt to alter the way they do things. With the media and society the way they are, people tend to emphasize paranoia and hatred when it comes to crimes, with almost no emphasis on compassion and forgiveness. Although forgiving is difficult, that forgiveness is not even held up as the ideal ought to make one question people's real motives and dispositions. People seek the infliction of pain or death in the name of compassion for the victims, and somehow they pretend they are noble and serving justice. The families one hears from in this book have not only suffered immensely, but have also done something more profound and difficult than most could imagine. This book is a difficult read because of the subject matter, but many people could learn from it. It is quite beyond me how the people in this book are not held up as ethical models for the rest of us, people who really believe in a principle everyone supposedly also believes (except when it's not convenient, then we like bloody vengeance).

"But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don't hold back your shirt either." "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that." But I guess this just never applies. So much for the 'advanced morality' and 'Christian ethic' so many talk about today.