Hinrichtungen 2011: min. 676 plus 'Tausende' in China

Biografisches in englischer Sprache

Witness To Murder by Tony Medina (TX Death Row)
A remarkable collection of original poetry and essays by Tony Medina, with additional contributions from his sister and Dominique Green to whom the book is dedicated. The book has a loose structure of three sections. The first has a theme of love and struggle. This is followed by a darker section in which the reader is invited to witness the emotional experience of life on the row. The final section is a deeply personal description of Tony's rebuilding in a world of lonely isolation, his fears and his hopes. This is a moving testimony to the human spirit, and will surely cause us all to ask the same question posed throughout this book - What is the value of a man's life?

Journey of Hope... by Bill Pelke
Bill Pelke is one of the co-founders of The Journey of Hope ... From Violence to Healing. This is his story.
The savage murder of 78-year-old Bible teacher Ruth Pelke by four teen-age girls was the beginning of Bill Pelke's Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing. Initially Bill did not object when 15-year old Paula Cooper was sentenced to death for his grandmother's murder. Through the power of prayer and transformation, he moved from supporting her death sentence, to working to have it overturned, to dedicating his life to the abolition of the death penalty. This is the story of Bill's journey, the obstacles he overcame, and the amazing, loving, forgiving, committed people he met on the way.

Life on Death Row by Robert W. Murray
Whatever your views on Capital Punishment, this revised, second edition of, "Life on Death Row,' by Robert W. Murray, will bring you face to face with the reality--- the inside story--- of the death penalty experience. It includes a new Appendix of photographs of the prison.
This exposition from the heart of death row is a unique journey into the ultimate sanction of death by the state. Thought-provoking and insightful, the author gives an uncommon view into the life of a death row prisoner. you will observe the real operation and management of one of America's Super-Max prisons; share in the strange and frightening experience of being prematurely served with a death warrant, a notice of your imminent murder; explore the reality of the so-called "humane" execution; and follow the rise and fall of the infamous "death row chain gang," as concieved by Arizona's former governor, who was then embroiled in a scandal which ultimately led to his conviction and removal from office. Learn the true facts of how the chain gang ended in a hail of bullets when two people were killed in a misbegotten escape attempt. Drawn from the personal experience of an internationally published writer/prisoner, this book is a complete in depth examination of real life on death row, with rare photographs of scenes inside the Super-Max prison. It is loaded with insightful revelations, delivers an unvarnished perspective on the reality of Capital Punishment and challenges the conventional wisdom of Arizona 's legalized murder in a dramatic and unflinching style (Albert Publishing)

I Shall Not Die: Seventy-Two Hours on Death Watch by Billy Neal Moore
The powerful memoirs of Billy Neal Moore detailing his being on deathwatch with only seventy-two hours to live, makes this a breathtaking saga of one man's journey deep behind the veil of execution protocol. This dramatic and compelling human account of how the same man embodied the worst and best mankind has to offer; is a testament to the redemptive power of God touching the human soul as the grace of forgiveness is granted to one man, giving him his live back again so that he can help others to experience the same forgiveness.
Moore's death sentence got commuted to a life term, a few years later he was released from prison and today he serves as a prison chaplan.

In the Place of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance by Wilbert Rideau
Wilbert Rideau, a former death row inmate in Louisiana who has since been released from prison, published his memoir, In the Place of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance. Rideau was sentenced to death at the age of 19 for killing a woman in panic during a botched robbery attempt. While on death row, he underwent a transformation and, after his sentence was commuted to life, he became the editor of The Angolite, an award-winning prison magazine that exposed abuses in the correctional system by guards and inmates at Angola Prison. Several wardens vouched for Rideau's rehabilitation, and decades later, his case was reopened. In 2005, he was found guilty of manslaughter and released with time served. He now resides in Baton Rouge with his wife.

In 2010 he was interviewed in Mother Jones Magazine. When asked why it took so long to be released despite support from wardens and parole officers, Rideau said it was, 'Because they made me a political football. And whenever that happens, it's difficult for any prisoner to get out … the only reason I got the help I got was because I was high-profile and won awards. Otherwise, I would have been just like a lot of the other guys: alone, trying to deal with the system.' (DPIC)

Monster: Inside the Mind of Aileen Wuornos: My True Story by Aileen Wuornos
Aileen Wuornos was executed in Florida, on the 9th of October, 2002 at the age of 46. She was the 10th woman to be sentenced to death in the USA since the death penalty resumed in 1976. Convicted for the murder of six men, in a two month period, Aileen claimed she acted in self defence however the investigation into these claims was poor and she later retracted her statement announcing to the Supreme Court, "I'm one who seriously hates human life and would kill again." All-too-often female prostitutes have been the victims of male serial killers - the killings of Aileen 'Lee' Wuornos were the inverse of this. She was a child prostitute, fleeing an abusive childhood at the hands of her grandparents, which led straight into a disastrous adulthood of difficult affairs with both men and women. Her metamorphosis from victim to

attacker had brutal consequences: a stream of dead men. Following a renewed interest in this woman after the film "Monster", this is her story in her own words.

The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions (Vintage) by Helen Prejean
In The Death of Innocents, Sister Helen Prejean focuses her argument on the ways in which an unjust system may be killing innocent people. She tells the story of two inmates she came to know as a spiritual adviser. Dobie Williams, a poor black man with an IQ of 65 from rural Louisiana, was executed after being represented by incompetent counsel and found guilty by an all-white jury based mostly on conjecture and speculation. Joseph O'Dell was convicted of murder after the court heard from an inmate who later admitted to giving false testimony for his own benefit. O'Dell received neither an evidentiary hearing nor potentially exculpatory DNA testing and was executed, insisting on his innocence the whole while. Besides exploring the shaky cases against them, Prejean describes in vivid detail the thoughts and feelings of Williams

and O'Dell as their bids for clemency fail and they are put to death. The second part of the book details 'the machinery of death', the legal process that Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, dismayed at the inequities of the death penalty, cited as his reason for resigning and that current justice Antonin Scalia has boasted of being a part of.

Execution's Doorstep: True Stories of the Innocent and Near Damned by Leslie Lythe
"Wonder how it could be that 126 wrongly convicted people on death row have been exonerated? What's wrong with our court system? Here's a promise: if you accompany Ms. Lytle into these five stories you'll not only 'get it,' you may be moved to join our efforts to change it." - Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and Death of Innocents
"Damn, I wish I had written this book! Leslie Lytle has done a masterful job of drawing out her subjects in interviews, as Studs Terkel might have, and telling their stories in fast-paced narratives, as John Grisham might have." - Rob Warden, Executive Director, Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern University School of Law

Don't Kill in Our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Out Against the Death Penalty by Rachel King
Rachel King presents the stories of 10 Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation members. Throughout the book, King examines the reasons why these survivors choose reconciliation over retribution and why they actively oppose capital punishment. Using first-hand accounts and third-person narrative, King presents the stories in the context of the nation's on-going death penalty debate. King was legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Ride: A Shocking Murder and a Bereaved Father's Journey from Rage to Redemption by Brian MacQuarrie
The Ride tells the true story of one of the most gruesome crimes in recent memory—the 1997 abduction and murder of ten-year-old Massachusetts resident Jeffrey Curley—and how his father, Bob Curley, managed to heal the deep wounds of rage and emerge to become an outspoken critic of the death penalty.
In vivid, compelling prose, Boston Globe reporter Brian MacQuarrie recounts the brutal crime that shocked New England and chronicles what transpires after Jeffrey’s death, which is nearly as shocking as the crime itself. At the heart of this deeply touching story is the way Bob Curley summons the almost superhuman courage to reject the death penalty. In tracing his personal journey, The Ride presents an appealing everyman hero forced into the spotlight by unfathomable circumstances, and compelled to confront the consequences of his fury.

In the Shadow of Death: Restorative Justice and Death Row Families by Elizabeth Beck
The press called Martin's actions a 'crime spree'. Terrified that his son would be sentenced to die, Martin's father Phillip committed suicide; ironically, the jury, moved by this desperate act, spared Martin's life. Phillip's story, like those of the other parents, siblings, children, and cousins chronicled here, vividly illustrates the precarious position occupied by capital offenders' families. Living in the shadow of death, they are crushed by trauma, grief, and helplessness. In this penetrating account of guilt and innocence, shame and triumph, devastating loss and ultimate redemption, their voices add a new dimension to the debate about capital punishment. These narratives are woven together by restorative justice theory, which holds offenders accountable while searching for ways to mend the communities and lives torn apart by

their crimes and integrating offenders' families into the process of promoting justice and healing. What emerges from myriad in-depth interviews with offenders' and victims' families, legal teams, and leaders in the abolition and restorative justice movements is a vision of justice rooted in the social fabric of communities, showing that forgiveness and recovery are possible even after terrible crimes. While holding victims' stories sacred, this eye-opening book bridges the pain of living in the shadow of death with the possibility of a reparative form of justice. Anyone working with victims, offenders, and their families - from lawyers and social workers to mediators and activists - will find it indispensable to their efforts.

The Autobiography of an Execution by David Dow
David Dow, a former death penalty supporter, is a professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center and an internationally recognized defense attorney. He is the founder and director of the Texas Innocence Network. Dow has represented over 100 inmates on death row.
It this spellbinding true crime narrative, Dow takes us inside of prisons, inside the complicated minds of judges, inside execution-administration chambers, into the lives of death row inmates (some shown to be innocent, others not) and even into his own home--where the toll of working on these gnarled and difficult cases is perhaps inevitably paid. He sheds insight onto unexpected phenomena-- how even religious lawyer and justices can evince deep rooted support for putting criminals to death-- and makes palpable the suspense that clings to every word and action when human lives hang in the balance.

Living Next Door to the Death House by Virginia Stem Owens and David Clinton Owens
Authors Virginia Stem Owens and David Clinton Owens live in Huntsville, Texas, which has earned a reputation as the death penalty capital of the United States. They call Huntsville "a company town," where the company in question, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, employs almost a quarter of the residents. With so much of the population directly connected to the prison system, the ultimate punishment - meted out as often as once a week - is always "next door." Through candid, compelling interviews with those in Huntsville connected both personally and professionally to the Texas prison system and death row, the authors explore how the steady stream of executions in the town has affected these people and the community at large. As the Owenses show, the ever-present death chamber "reaches out like tentacles to touch the lives of everyone who lives here."

Executioner: Pierrepoint by Albert Pierrepoint
Albert Pierrepoint resigned in 1956 over a disagreement with the Home Office about his fees. He was the only executioner in British history whose notice of resignation prompted the government to write to him begging him to reconsider, such was the reputation he had established as the most efficient and swiftest executioner in British history. What is true is that, ironically, he was an opponent of capital punishment. But Pierrepoint kept his opinions to himself on the topic until this autobiography: "I have come to the conclusion that executions solve nothing, and are only an antiquated relic of a primitive desire for revenge which takes the easy way and hands over the responsibility for revenge to other people...The trouble with the death penalty has always been that nobody wanted it for everybody, but everybody differed about who should get off."

Last updated on 28.03.2012

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