The Execution of a Serial Killer: One Man's Experience Witnessing the Death Penalty [Hardcover]

Joseph D. Diaz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2003

In December of 2000, a young criminologist stared into the face of a serial killer as the man was executed. Unwittingly, the researcher became his own subject when he found himself emotionally unprepared for the brutality of capital punishment. A psychological crash, bordering on insanity, resulted as the author confronted his own feelings about life, death, and his religious faith.

In The Execution of a Serial Killer: One Man’s Experience Witnessing the Death Penalty, Dr. Diaz exposes the haunting mind of a deranged and violent serial killer and the origins of the criminal’s deadly urges. He transports the reader to a front row seat inside the death chamber of the Florida State Prison, revealing how it feels to witness an execution, and challenging all to ask themselves, "Could I witness an execution?"

This book tells the true story of the events that led to these two lives converging that night in Florida. It describes the life and the death of a serial killer, and the impact his execution had on a witness the killer never even knew.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Diaz's powerful examination of the death penalty opens with a detailed description of the crimes of serial killer Edward Castro, a man whose execution Diaz witnessed. In 1986, Castro was responsible for three brutal murders and confessed when picked up by the Florida police on an unrelated issue. Diaz, a sociology and criminology professor at a college in Minnesota, was undecided about his stance on the death penalty. On one hand, he opposed it on moral grounds, but he had also seen the devastation such callous and sadistic killers wrought. When he learned the states of Texas and Florida needed volunteers to witness executions, he sent them both letters. Florida called on him. From that moment up until (and beyond) the execution itself, Diaz agonized over the process--including wrongful convictions and botched executions--and the consequences of the state taking a life, even that of a murderer. Readers on both sides of the death-penalty debate will find much to ponder in this thoughtful assessment of the U.S.' highest form of punishment. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

One winter evening, two strangers came to within three feet of one another in the execution chamber of Florida State Prison. Edward Castro, a convicted serial killer, was about to die for the vicious murders he had committed. Dr. Joseph Diaz, a young criminologist and professor, was about to take part in the execution of a man he had never met.

Unwittingly, the researcher became his own subject when he found himself emotionally unprepared for the brutality of capital punishment. A psychological crash, bordering on insanity, resulted as the author confronted his own feelings about life, death, and his religious faith.

This book tells the true story of the events that led to these two lives converging that night in Florida. It describes the life and the death of a serial killer, and the impact his execution had on a witness the killer never even knew.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 242 pages
• Publisher: Poncha Pr; Second Printing edition (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970186274
• ISBN-13: 978-0970186270
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,233,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing Account of Both Serial Killings and Death Penalty, April 1, 2003

By 

Kimberly Blaker, author/columnist (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Execution of a Serial Killer: One Man's Experience Witnessing the Death Penalty (Hardcover)

The Execution of a Serial Killer begins by taking readers on a disturbing journey through the unspeakable crimes of a sociopath, with descriptive narration of the savagery of Edward Castro and of several other serial killers and the emotional and physical torture endured by their victims. Although opposed to the death penalty myself, the accounts quickly and temporarily induced a desire for revenge and for the death penalty, a normal human response to such brutal killings.

But author Joseph Diaz continues by sharing his own experience of indecision in regards to the death penalty, which is compounded by various arguments on both sides of the issue. Finally, when faced with witnessing the execution of Castro, the author comes to terms with the death penalty, concluding it is not the solution.

What especially captured me was the author's style and candidness. He has a sense of humor that is used appropriately, helping to relieve some of the edginess that builds from the intense subject. I was able to know the author as he shared his innermost thoughts that at times, if not odd, bordered on bizarre. Yet, they were very much like the thoughts that sometimes pop into my own mind and that we probably all encounter but would be unwilling to share with even our closest confidant.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witness To A State-Sponsored Killing, April 21, 2003

By 

Bruce Crocker "agnostictrickster" (Whittier, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Execution of a Serial Killer: One Man's Experience Witnessing the Death Penalty (Hardcover)

Edward Castro was a piece of work. He was a sociopathic serial killer who enjoyed his life of crime way too much. Professor Joseph Diaz is a Professor of Sociology who specializes in criminology and antisocial behavior, has a wife and kids, and is a very Christian man. Professor Diaz was also a person who used to be ambivalent about the death penalty. The Execution Of A Serial Killer is Professor Diaz' very personal story of how he came to watch Edward Castro executed by the State of Florida, and what effect this event had on his thinking. I was thoroughly involved with Diaz' physical and mental journey, and highly recommend this book, especially to those folks who are either ambivalent about the death penalty or pro-death penalty, but couldn't see themselves pushing the button personally.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars shocking!, February 8, 2003

By 

Carrie Hoversten, Student (Greensboro NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Execution of a Serial Killer: One Man's Experience Witnessing the Death Penalty (Hardcover)

I could not put the book down, it kept you always interested wondering how the author was going to deal with certain situations he put himself in. The author also made you think twice about whether we should or should not be using this as a punishment. This was a great book and I would recomend everyone to take the time to read this book!