When You Read This They Will Have Killed Me: The Life and Redemption of Caryl Chessman, Whose Execution Shook America [Paperback]

Alan Bisbort (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 2007

When Caryl Chessman appeared on the cover of Time's March 21, 1960 issue, he was the most famous prisoner in America and arguably the best-known in the world. He not only put a face on the issue of capital punishment, he made one of the most remarkable transformations by any American writer. Through access to the papers and letters of his attorneys, George T. Davis and Rosalie Asher, the unpublished manuscripts and papers held by Joseph Longstreth; reminiscences with those who knew him, like Mr. Davis, Mr. Longstreth, his agent and executor; and country music legend Merle Haggard, the first definitive portrait of the enigmatic Caryl Chessman emerges.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Caryl Chessman was sentenced to California's death row in 1948 after being convicted as Los Angeles's notorious "Red Light Bandit," who robbed couples in parked cars, on some occasions raping the women. By the time Chessman was executed in 1960, his memoirs had made him an international symbol of the anti–death penalty movement. (Carroll & Graf is simultaneously republishing the first and most popular of those memoirs, Cell 2455, Death Row.) This new biography draws heavily on recently released archives of Chessman's unpublished letters and manuscripts as well as contemporary accounts. While acknowledging that Chessman was "a confirmed criminal," Bisbort (Sunday Afternoon Looking for the Car) argues that he was not the Red Light Bandit, repeatedly attacking his conviction in "a tainted trial in a hostile court" and the authorities' refusal to revisit the case. At times, the spirited defense engages in hyperbole—for instance comparing Chessman to Alexander Solzhenitsyn—rather than just letting the facts of the case make the powerful argument. Still, Chessman's story loses none of its haunting power, and Bisbort's retelling reaffirms its significance in America's quest for social justice. B&w photos. (Oct. 10)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The story of Caryl Chessman in the 1950s is the story of the American criminal justice system and its grossly irrational practice of capital punishment. It is also the story of America's fascination with celebrity and crime. Bisbort draws on Chessman's papers, including unpublished manuscripts and letters to his attorneys, to present a fascinating look at a man who spent 12 years on death row and achieved international celebrity as a writer and vehement opponent of capital punishment. Chessman was a petty criminal; legal experts widely agreed that his crime did not merit the death penalty. His case provoked a storm of debate about capital punishment even as California governor Pat Brown, who had granted clemency to two other death-row inmates who later committed horrendous crimes, offered a reprieve for Chessman too late to stop his execution. Bisbort explores the social and political mind-set of the 1950s and the complex personality of Chessman as he came to grips with his role in American crime and punishment. Vernon Ford
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 414 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786719400
• ISBN-13: 978-0786719402
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,664,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent bio of a forgotten figure whose life and execution ignited the death penalty debate, September 2, 2006

By 

Parke Puterbaugh (Greensboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When You Read This They Will Have Killed Me: The Life and Redemption of Caryl Chessman, Whose Execution Shook America (Hardcover)

Alan Bisbort has delved deep into heretofore unplumbed archives to present a solid, nuanced portrait of a compelling American anti-hero: a small-time career criminal who never killed anyone but wound up being executed anyway by the state of California for reasons that, in hindsight, seem driven mainly by public hysteria and political calculation. The injustice of his execution is one matter, but what really drives Bisbort's narrative is the fascinating tale of Caryl Chessman's jailhouse redemption. During a lengthy internment preceding his trip to the electric chair, Chessman transformed himself into a legal expert and a literary figure of renown. Bisbort delves into Chessman's interior psychology, and the reader feels as if he or she is in that dim San Quentin cell with Chessman as, for the first time in his misspent life, the lights come on and burn bright within his fertile brain. It's a remarkable tale that is ripe for rediscovery in our present age, given all the debate about the death penalty. And it would make a great movie, too. Sean Penn as Caryl Chessman, perhaps?

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing take on an otherwise tragic subject, October 14, 2006

By 

Henry W. Godbout Jr. (Ellison Bay, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When You Read This They Will Have Killed Me: The Life and Redemption of Caryl Chessman, Whose Execution Shook America (Hardcover)

I was given Mr. Bisbort's "When You Read This They Will Have Killed Me: The Life and Redemption of Caryl Chessman, Whose Execution Shook America" as a gift, and what a gift it was. I have read many books related to the tragic nature and ultimate futility of capital punishment, but not recently. One reason, perhaps, is the dry, "cookie-cutter" publishing approach to the re-telling of these stories. One reviewer stated, "At times the spirited defense engages in hyperbole--for instance comparing Chessman with Alexander Solzhenitsyn--rather than just letting the facts of the case make the powerful argument." It's that exact sentiment that had me drifting away from the genre. Rather than re-tell a story by rote, Mr. Bisbort's lively take is sprinkled with a treasure trove of historical and pop culture references. Also, rather than having the typical all-in-one photo section, Mr. Bisbort's book is illustrated throughout with a wide range of photos, news clippings, book cover art and illustrations. All of these elements, combined with the sad tale of Mr. Chessman, make this book a true page-turner.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SOUL ON FIRE, August 19, 2006

By 

Steve Hodel (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When You Read This They Will Have Killed Me: The Life and Redemption of Caryl Chessman, Whose Execution Shook America (Hardcover)

Only now, some forty-five years after the barbaric execution of Caryl Chessman, Los Angeles' so-called, 'Red Light Bandit,' are we introduced to the man behind the myth. Bisbort brillantly mirrors Chessman's real face. Over a dozen years, on death row, we hear the voice of a soul on fire begin to cool and mature as it seeks light and finds true personal redemption. Alan Bisbort's sensitive historical postmortem stands in service of the truth."

Steve Hodel, author of Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder