FINDING LIFE ON DEATH ROW. Profiles of Six Inmates

Lezin (Katya)

ISBN 10: 1555534058 / ISBN 13: 9781555534059

Published by Northeastern Univ. Press (Boston), 1999

About this Item

Hardback. A thought-provoking book on how an array of factors often leads people to commit capital crimes - and how perfunctory treatment by judges and court-appointed attorneys often leads them to Death Row. Drawn from the case files of the appeals attorney, Stephen B. Bright, the author provides illuminating profiles of six convicted murderers, two of whom have been executed. She tells about the crimes, the life circumstances that contributed to the capital offences, the legal cases, and the torment endured by the families of the condemned. Her compelling portraits of these men and women underscore the question of whether the death penalty is more often imposed on the poorest and most vulnerable perpetrators rather than on the worst criminals. Featuring : John Carl Shaw, Donnald Wayne Thomas, Judy Haney, Jimmy Lee Horton, Larry Heath and Michael Cervi. Foreword by Stephen B. Bright. With Glossary. 190pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. in f. dw.

Seller Inventory # 13100

Bibliographic Details

• Title: FINDING LIFE ON DEATH ROW. Profiles of Six Inmates
• Publisher: Northeastern Univ. Press (Boston)
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1555534058
• ISBN 13: 9781555534059
• Binding: Hardcover / Hardback
• Edition: First edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Capital Punishment/Penology

About this title

Synopsis

Joseph Carl Shaw, a military policeman who suffered from schizophrenia and attempted to medicate himself with illegal drugs, committed three murders after being turned away from a mental health clinic; a court-appointed lawyer advised him to plead guilty and put his fate in the hands of a politically ambitious judge who sentenced him to death. Judy Haney was convicted of killing a man who had abused her and her children; she was represented by a lawyer who appeared in court so drunk that the presiding judge sent him to jail to dry out, and then later appointed the same lawyer to handle Haney's appeal.

For many prisoners on death row, the stories are similar, the dispensing of justice questionable. Katya Lezin now shows in this thought-provoking book how an array of factors often lead people to commit capital crimes -- and how perfunctory treatment by judges and court-appointed attorneys often leads them to death row.

Drawn from the case files of appeals attorney Stephen B. Bright, Lezin provides illuminating profiles of six convicted murderers, two of whom have been executed. She tells about the crimes, life circumstances that contributed to the capital offenses, the legal cases, and the torment endured by the families of the condemned. Her compelling portraits of these men and women underscore the question of whether the death penalty is more often imposed on the poorest and most vulnerable perpetrators rather than on the worst criminals.

Lezin's work goes behind the slogans of the war on crime to unmask the human face of capital punishment. It casts new light on the inequities inherent in the criminal justice system and offers food for thought for anyone struggling with the moral dilemmas raised by the death penalty.

About the Author

Katya Lezin is former Assistant Director for Government and Public Interest at the Office of Career Services at the Georgetown University Law Center. She is currently a freelance writer living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Stephen B. Bright is Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.