The Executioner S Confession

This new novel is by Benjamin Kwakye is a Ghanaian novelist. His first novel, The Clothes of Nakedness, won the 1999 Commonwealth Writers Prize, best first book, Africa. His second novel, The Sun by Night won the 2006 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best Book Africa. His third novel, The Other Crucifix won the 2011 IPPY Gold Award for Adult Multicultural Fiction. He is also the author of a collection of novellas, Eyes of the Slain Woman. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, he presently practices law and is a director of the African Education Initiative.

A Season of Change

“This book is moral dynamite. It reveals not only what men can do in war but also what war can do to men.” – Norman Davies, historian and academic Stefan D?mbski joined the Polish Home Army in 1942 when he was just 16 years old. The Home Army formed the military wing of the Polish Underground, the resistance movement established to fight the Nazi occupation of Poland during the Second World War. During this occupation, the Home Army passed death sentences on hundreds of individuals – both Nazi enemies and colluding Polish compatriots. As one of the few Home Army members who volunteered to carry out these death sentences, the young D?mbski quickly became a seasoned executioner. In July 1945, D?mbski was transferred to the West and ended up in the United States where he remained until his death in 1993. In his final years, D?mbski recorded his story in fascinating, shocking detail. After his death, his memoirs came into the possession of his niece and nephew before eventually arriving at the KARTA Foundation in 2005. Initially published in the original Polish, Sobieralski’s translation of D?mbski’s records now gives English-language readers a hugely important insight into the mind of this seasoned executioner. Readers are made aware of the facts and actions of D?mbski’s life, but are witness to the lifelong moral struggle that accompanied these actions and led him to reflect on ideas of heroism, patriotism, guilt and on the very act of war itself.

American Corrections, Second Edition offers you a contemporary, issues-oriented introduction that covers every aspect of corrections, prompting you to think critically about complex issues that are affecting the current U.S. correctional system. Incorporating the most recent theory, research, and data available, the Second Edition encourages you to explore the most interesting and progressive developments in correctional policy and practice. Authors Barry A. Krisberg, Susan Marchionna, and Christopher J. Hartney draw from years of professional experience to give you a practical knowledge of corrections, as well as provide a framework for thoughtful analysis into what is plaguing the American correctional system and a realistic exploration of the solutions that could make a difference. New to the Second Edition: Up-to-date coverage of today’s key issues reflects the latest developments in corrections, including the fiscal impact of corrections, reforms in corrections, and an expanded use of alternatives to incarceration. Debates around the effectiveness of corrections encourage you to think critically about probation, problem-solving courts, split sentences and flash incarceration, new recidivism studies, rates of racial and ethnic disparity in adult and juvenile corrections, and overrepresentation of youth of color in prisons. Recent trends are discussed to give you a clearer picture of how the correctional system has transformed over the years, including the decline in the practice of incarcerating juveniles in large prisons, the rising incarceration rate for women, the treatment of mentally ill inmates, the increase of private prisons, and more. Incisive exploration of policies proposed by the Trump administration shows you how the current administration’s approach differs from Obama-era sentencing reforms and encourages students to think critically about the potent impacts on the correctional system. New Spotlight boxes introduce you to key issues such as immigration and detention and the opioid addiction epidemic. Updated references, statistics, court rulings, and data help you understand the latest trends in correctional practices.

American Corrections: Concepts and Controversies, by Barry Krisberg, Susan Marchionna, and Chris Hartney, presents an incisive view of every aspect of corrections (including jails, probation, sentencing, prisons, and parole), prompting students to think critically about the complex issues involved in responding to the current crisis in the U.S. correctional system. Incorporating theory, research, and the most recent available data, the book takes a contemporary and issues-oriented approach as it explores the most interesting and progressive developments in correctional policy and practice. Students will come away with practical knowledge, as well as a framework for thoughtful analysis of a subject that can seem mysterious or impenetrable. In addition, the book covers subjects many corrections texts treat only minimally, including women in corrections, the death penalty, and special populations. Perhaps most importantly, the book offers a point of view on what is plaguing the American correctional system and a realistic look at the solutions that offer real promise.

This edited collection offers multi-disciplinary reflections and analysis on a variety of themes centred on nineteenth century executions in the UK, many specifically related to the fundamental change in capital punishment culture as the execution moved from the public arena to behind the prison wall. By examining a period of dramatic change in punishment practice, this collection of essays provides a fresh historical perspective on nineteenth century execution culture, with a focus on Scotland, Wales and the regions of England. From Public Spectacle to Hidden Ritual has two parts. Part 1 addresses the criminal body and the witnessing of executions in the nineteenth century, including studies of the execution crowd and executioners’ memoirs, as well as reflections on the experience of narratives around capital punishment in museums in the present day. Part 2 explores the treatment of the execution experience in the print media, from the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. The collection draws together contributions from the fields of Heritage and Museum Studies, History, Law, Legal History and Literary Studies, to shed new light on execution culture in nineteenth century Britain. This volume will be of interest to students and academics in the fields of criminology, heritage and museum studies, history, law, legal history, medical humanities and socio-legal studies.

"Relying largely on Stroop's own words ... Moczarski recreates the chain of events which caused a nondescript German youth, the son of a provincial policeman, to rise to the top of the Nazi hierarchy; become part of the inner circle of Hitler, Himmler, and Göring; wield ... power in Czechoslovakia, Soviet Russia, and Greece; and mastermind Warsaw's "Final solution"--Jacket.

During Stalin's Great Terror, accusations of treason struck fear in the hearts of Soviet citizens-and lengthy imprisonment or firing squads often followed. Many of the accused sealed their fates by agreeing to confessions after torture or interrogation by the NKVD. Some, however, gave up without a fight. In Stalinist Confessions, Igal Halfin investigates the phenomenon of a mass surrender to the will of the state. He deciphers the skillfully rendered discourse through which Stalin defined his cult of personality and consolidated his power by building a grassroots base of support and instilling a collective psyche in every citizen. By rooting out evil (opposition) wherever it hid, good communists could realize purity, morality, and their place in the greatest society in history. Confessing to trumped-up charges, comrades made willing sacrifices to their belief in socialism and the necessity of finding and making examples of its enemies.Halfin focuses his study on Leningrad Communist University as a microcosm of Soviet society. Here, eager students proved their loyalty to the new socialism by uncovering opposition within the University. Through their meetings and self-reports, students sought to become Stalin's New Man. Using his exhaustive research in Soviet archives including NKVD records, party materials, student and instructor journals, letters, and newspapers, Halfin examines the transformation in the language of Stalinist socialism. From an initial attitude that dismissed dissent as an error in judgment and redeemable through contrition to a doctrine where members of the opposition became innately wicked and their reform impossible, Stalin's socialism now defined loyalty in strictly black and white terms. Collusion or allegiance (real or contrived, now or in the past) with "enemies of the people" (Trotsky, Zinoviev, Bukharin, Germans, capitalists) was unforgivable. The party now took to the task of purging itself with ever-increasing zeal.