Customer Reviews

Within These Walls

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

No one escapes this book without being confronted with the tragic realities of the death penalty. Rev. Pickett does not fluff this story with hype but tells it as he lived it. This is not just a testament about the death penalty but is also about the meaning of life, death, family systems, ministry, and, in the end of the book, loving one's enemies. You can argue that Pickett is wrong about the death penalty perhaps but you cannot argue with the fact that he did his job with integrity and love. You'll love it or hate it but will not escape the power of Carroll Pickett's experience.

If you had asked me 6 months ago how I felt about the death penalty, I would have said I was in favor of it. I still believe there are crimes which are so heinous that the death penalty should be used. However, I am troubled that there seems to be no uniform criteria which dictate when it is used. Also, I think we need to ask ourselves whether taking a life, to avenge a life, is truly the answer. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever been troubled with how violent crime is punished in America today.

Carroll Pickett once supported the death penalty, and this book details a gradual transformation. Within These Walls gives readers a vivid look at the real cost of the death penalty; the impact it has on the people who must carry out society's ultimate punishment.

Anyone who wants a more accurate picture of the reality of capital punishment will benefit from this moving account.

I guess it's true you either love it or hate it as I can't imagine being ambivalent about this book. I first read the book only because I had met the author, Rev. Carroll Pickett. I found it to be very interesting & thought provoking. I have recommended it to numerous people. I have since had the great fortune to get to know Carroll & his wife, Jane. He is a truly remarkable man & I feel priviledged to know him & to have read his book. He is definitely a man of intergrity. I'm glad he shared his experiences with all of us!

Rev. Carroll Pickett speaks with the authority of a man who is tough in every way, tough enough to have the respect of prison authorities and tough enough to have the respect of inmates in the toughest prison system in the country, Huntsville, Texas. This tough man is also one of the kindest persons you will ever meet. His honesty makes this a compelling book. He started out as a prison chaplain in favor of the death penalty but after accompanying a hundred inmates to their deaths, he is now so vehemently opposed to the death penalty he no longer refers to it as execution but murder. He now works full time for its abolition. I don't see how anyone could read this book from the beginning and come out at the other end in favor of this barbarism.

Whether you agree or disagree with the way the death penalty is played out in TX or the US in general this book is a great read. The author has "lived" all sides of the issue from having friends who where murdered to ministering to those who killed them. It's a very well-written and well-rounded look at the issues.

I found this book compelling as it spoke more about Christianity than it did the death penalty. Crime and punishment have been debated throughout every society since man started living among one another. It is easy to turn away from a situation one finds morally or philosophically wrong, but for many it is unimaginable to put the benefit of others ahead of those views we hold. Reverend Pickett's book eloquently makes this point through its simplicity and sincerity.

What I found so compelling was Rev. Pickett's willingness to continue his ministry to the prison community after the commencement of capital punishment in Texas. Rev. Pickett could have quit, but he felt his calling was to minister to those who had no one, to those that felt there was no love and compassion available to them for the crimes they had committed. He was the only one who showed these condemned men the look and feel of grace.

Rev. Pickett removes the judgmentality that pervades our society in all corners of the social spectrum and ministers as a servant of God. How many people that society had deemed to be lost or of no use to mankind found social (and spiritual) redemption through his ministry? How many of those later went on to positively impact others?

This book is a call to move beyond the polarizing social debates that paralyze progress. Don't picket the problem, participate in mitigating it's damage.

This book was very interesting. It gave a great detail of information. It was quite disturbing but, it holds your attention.

I am not accustomed to writing book reviews. However, for those considering reading one of the most accessible, truthful, courageous, and insightful books delivered my a reverend who has invited we, the readers, into the world where he devoted his time ministering to those incarcerated that would eventually be released espousing hope, emphasizing education of skills that would transfer back to the free world, and guidance into programs that would decrease chances of recidivism into of unrestricted living....this should be a priority read. Reverend Pickett`s unfortunate aspect of the chaplain assignment was overseeing the one punishment that is irreversible, otherwise known as capital punishment or the death penalty (state sanctioned murder). This particular task was clearly the most challenging of his spiritual life complied with the fact he is against capital punishment (as is the Presbyterian Church and most major organized religions). These feelings he kept to himself. Had this ideology been exposed, Rev. Pickett would have been relieved of duty and replaced by an individual who could not guarantee the same dignity he treated each individual in their final hours regardless of what act they had committed against their fellow man (unless they were innocent, which has been proven post-mortem). He felt in the execution room with so many people aiming glares of hatred, each man should have at least one person deserved a compassionate friend in their final hour...this was not an easy task as he occasionally knew the victims of those on the gurney. After the state sanctioned murder had been completed, he then had to attend to the family of new victims of useless murder, the loved ones of executed. These individuals were parents, wives, brothers, sons, fathers, uncles, cousins; etc. Despite the fact it makes monetary, ethical, and humanitarian logic to house for life without parole; our culture continues to kill and the cycle of violence rolls on. I live in the real world in this modern era where innocent men have been executed, living men on death row have been exonerated by DNA evidence (false confessions, too), but I do not think we live in a lawless society. I have the utmost respect for men and women who risk their lives for our safety. I also believe that prisons are necessary to permanently house, rehabilitate and/or reform individuals that need extra courses teaching to be productive members of society. Reverend Pickett addresses this in his book, his efforts on how he achieved success, and that his duties as a death house chaplain was such a small role compared to what he did for the men he prepared for the return to the world. Reverend Pickett provides priceless accounts and we should be grateful he chooses to share his experiences. He challenged the reader to step into his shoes and come to the logical conclusions in which arrives. We owe him a debt of gratitude for doing the "dirty work" of the country and, in his honor; we should work so that it is never asked of anyone again. There is nothing touchy-feely or liberal about this book. It is a cold, hard look in the mirror retributive justice. We should challenge ourselves to reconciliative instead.

Certain stories can only be told from those people who actually experienced them. Rev. Pickett began his job as the chaplain to death row inmates who were hours away from execution with the mindset that capital punishment didn't really involve him. He didn't really take a part in it, and his job would be simple. He would talk to the inmates for several hours, and then the execution would take place. Piece of cake, right?

His memoir shows just how difficult his job turned out to be. Each man approached his impending death in a different way. Some were remorseful, some angry, some professed innocence, and others didn't comprehend what was about to happen (he talks about one man in particular who was so mentally disabled that he was playing with crayons and coloring books hours before he was supposed to die). Each inmate that passed through Rev. Pickett's life left an imprint on him.

The book chronicles the journey of a man's transition from death penalty support to complete opposition. One of the most moving parts about this book is how the deaths of men that were undoubtedly guilty affected him. Clearly, counseling a man who is about to be executed that you know or suspect is innocent will put anyone through the emotional meat-grinder. Spending time with a man who is severely mentally disabled that is about to be put to death will also wear a person down. However, counseling men he knew to be guilty still gnawed away at his conscience.

Whether or not you agree with his position on capital punishment, the book is informative and spell-binding. Although I warn you: read it with a box of tissues!