Apologies From Death Row

"Remorse on Death Row explores the notion of remorse, apologies, and forgiveness within the context of capital punishment, through the final words themselves of offenders on death row, and the co-victims' responses to them in their statements to the press, across the US. The book demonstrates that there is evidence that some offenders on death row are truly remorseful and that some of the family members of their victims could benefit from this remorse, but that this is unlikely in the current system of capital punishment. Drawing from the fields of criminology, psychology, and sociology, the book begins with a theoretically informed introduction to the concepts of remorse and forgiveness. Following on, is an exploration of apology and forgiveness specifically in the context of capital punishment. It discusses how some initiatives within the criminal justice system, such as apology laws and restorative justice programs, are being used to make it easier for offenders to apologize to their victims. Offenders on death row are considered, addressing why they might or might not apologize, and whether they are even capable of showing true remorse. The book then considers the family members of their victims ('co-victims'), addressing whether they benefit from hearing the offender express remorse and witnessing the execution, and whether forgiveness is possible in this context. Evidence to support the arguments presented in the book come from the offenders' final words and the co-victims' responses to them in their statements to the press. The book dispels two common myths about the death penalty. First, that offenders on death row are not simply "monsters" who are incapable of understanding the severity of their crimes. Second, despite the popular belief that the death penalty is necessary in order to provide closure for the victims' family members, it may actually have the opposite effect. The family members' statements to the press after witnessing the execution contain more negative themes like anger and disappointment than positive themes like closure and peace. The book concludes with a discussion of the implications this has for systems of justice in general, and how a better understanding of the emotional state of offenders can help both victims and offenders. Remorse on Death Row will be of great interest to students and scholars of Criminology, Psychology and Sociology"--

Apologies from Death Row explores the notion of remorse, apologies, and forgiveness within the context of capital punishment in the United States, through the final words of offenders on death row, and the covictims’ responses to them in their statements to the press after witnessing the execution. The book demonstrates that there is evidence that some offenders on death row are truly remorseful and that some of the family members of their victims could benefit from this remorse, but that this is unlikely in the current system of capital punishment. Drawing from the fields of criminology, psychology, and sociology, the book begins with a theoretically informed introduction to the concepts of remorse and forgiveness, followed by an exploration of apology and forgiveness specifically in the context of capital punishment. It discusses how some initiatives within the criminal justice system, such as apology laws and restorative justice programmes, are being used to make it easier for offenders to apologize to their victims. Offenders on death row are considered, addressing why they might or might not apologize, and whether they are even capable of showing true remorse. The book then considers the family members of their victims ("covictims"), addressing whether they benefit from hearing the offender express remorse and witnessing the execution, and whether forgiveness is possible in this context. Evidence to support the arguments presented in the book come from the offenders’ final words and the covictims’ responses to them in their statements to the press. The book dispels two common myths about the death penalty. First, it shows that offenders on death row are not simply "monsters" who are incapable of understanding the severity of their crimes. Second, it provides evidence that, despite the popular belief that the death penalty is necessary in order to provide closure for the victims’ family members, it may actually have the opposite effect. The family members’ statements to the press after witnessing the execution contain more negative themes like anger and disappointment than positive themes like closure and peace. The book concludes with a discussion of the implications this has for systems of justice in general, and how a better understanding of the emotional state of offenders can help both victims and offenders. Apologies from Death Row will be of great interest to students and scholars of Criminology, Psychology, and Sociology.

Oprah's Book Club Summer 2018 Selection The Instant New York Times Bestseller A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn't commit. “An amazing and heartwarming story, it restores our faith in the inherent goodness of humanity.” —Archbishop Desmond Tutu In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only twenty–nine years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free. But with no money and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. He spent his first three years on Death Row at Holman State Prison in agonizing silence—full of despair and anger toward all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty–seven years he was a beacon—transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates, fifty–four of whom were executed mere feet from his cell. With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015. With a foreword by Stevenson, The Sun Does Shine is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times. Destined to be a classic memoir of wrongful imprisonment and freedom won, Hinton’s memoir tells his dramatic thirty–year journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humor, or joy.

A chilling catalog of the men and women who have paid the ultimate price for their crimes The death penalty is one of the most hotly contested and longest-standing issues in American politics, and no place is more symbolic of that debate than Texas. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1977, Texas has put more than 390 prisoners to death, far more than any other state. Texas Death Row puts faces to those condemned men and women, with stark details on their crimes, sentencing, last meals, and last words. Definitive and objective, Texas Death Row will provide ample fuel for readers on both sides of the death penalty debate.

The Apology of Socrates was written by Plato. In fact, it’s a defensive speech of Socrates that he said in a court noted down by Plato.The main subject of the speech is a problem of the evil. Socrates insists that neither death nor death sentence is evil. We shouldn’t be afraid of the death because we don’t know anything about it. Socrates proved that the death shouldn’t be taken as the evil with the following dilemma: the death is either a peace or a transit from this life to the next. Both can’t be called evil. Consequently, the death shouldn’t be treated as evil.

This volume provides analyses of a range of subjects and issues in the death penalty debate, from medicine to the media. The essays address in particular the personal complexities of those involved, a fundamental part of the subject usually overridden by the theoretical and legal aspects of the debate. The unique personal vantage offered by this volume makes it essential reading for anyone interested in going beyond the removed theoretical understanding of the death penalty, to better comprehending its fundamental humanity. Additionally, the international range of the analysis, enabling disaggregation of country specific motivations, ensures the complexities of the death penalty are also considered from a global perspective.

This book explains that penitentiaries were originally designed to bring about penance, and that this has been lost in the assembly line of mass incarceration.

This multi-disciplinary collection brings together original contributions to present the best of current thinking about the nature and place of remorse in the context of criminal justice. Despite the widespread and long-standing nature of interest in offender remorse, the topic has until recently been peripheral in academic studies. The authors are scholars from North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa and Australia, from diverse academic disciplines. They reflect on the role of remorse in law, for better or for worse; on how expressions of remorse are affected by the legal contexts in which they arise; and on the impact of these expressions on the individual, the court and the community. The work is divided into four parts – Part I Judging Remorse addresses issues concerning the task of assessing remorse in the courtroom, usually prior to determining sentence. Part II Remorse Beyond the Courtroom explores the place and significance of remorse in various post-court settings. Part III Remorse, War and Social Trauma addresses remorse in the context of political violence and social trauma in the former Yugoslavia and South Africa. Finally, Part IV Reflections seeks to underscore the multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary nature of the collection as a whole, through personal and disciplinary reflections on remorse. The work provides a showcase for how diverse academic disciplines can be brought together through a focus on a common topic. As such, the collection will become a standard reference work for further research across a range of disciplines and promote inter-disciplinary dialogue.