Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty FROM THE PUBLISHER
In this account of how his views on the death penalty have evolved, Scott Turow describes his own experiences with capital punishment, from his days as an impassioned young prosecutor to his recent service on the Illinois Commission that investigated the state's administration of the death penalty and influenced Governor George Ryan's unprecedented commutation of the sentences of 167 death row inmates on his last day in office. Along the way, Turow provides a brief history of America's ambivalent relationship with the ultimate punishment; analyzes the potent reasons for and against it, including the role of the victim's survivors; and tells the powerful stories behind the statistics, as he moves from the governor's mansion to Illinois' Super-Max prison and the execution chamber.
FROM THE CRITICS
The Washington Post
As one who has long wrestled with this issue, and who as an editorialist many years ago from time to time had to do that wrestling in public, I regard this as the most convincing, level-headed analysis of it I have encountered.—Jonathan Yardley
Publishers Weekly
Is there anything new to say about whether the death penalty should be abolished? It turns out there is. Bestselling author Turow (Reversible Errors) has some useful insights into this fiercely debated subject, based on his experiences as a prosecutor and, in his postprosecutorial years, working on behalf of death-row inmates, and his two years on Illinois's Commission on Capital Punishment, charged by the former Gov. George Ryan with examining how the death penalty might be more fairly administered. This is a sober and elegantly concise examination of a complex, fraught topic by an admitted "agnostic." His views veering one way and then the other, Turow shares his back-and-forth reasoning as he carefully discusses each issue, from the possible execution of an innocent person (a serious danger) to whether execution is a deterrent (it's not). Perhaps most illuminating are Turow's thoughts on victims' rights (which he says must be weighed against the needs of the community); on what to do with "the worst of the worst" (he visits a maximum security prison to meet multiple-murderer Henry Brison, who, Turow says, "most closely resembles... Hannibal Lecter"); and the question of what he calls "moral proportion," the notion that execution is meant to restore moral balance, which, he says, requires an "unfailingly accurate" system of justice. This measured weighing of the facts will be most valuable to those who, like Turow, are on the fence-they will find an invaluable, objective look at both sides of this critical but highly charged debate. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Writing from the perspective of a former prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, appellant attorney, and member of the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment, Turow examines various aspects and pros and cons of capital punishment. Reviewing the history of the death penalty, victims' feelings toward defendants, statistics, and examples of how the death penalty has been applied to specific cases in Illinois, the author ultimately shares his final stand on the question, "Is the death penalty ever justified?" Turow provides an excellent reading with an expressive, accent-free voice and distinct speech. Useful for law, debate, political science, and ethics students and for those interested in capital punishment or the Illinois criminal justice system. Recommended for all libraries.-Laurie Selwyn, Grayson Cty. Law Lib., Sherman, TX Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
AudioFile
In 1999, Governor George Ryan of Illinois asked the author, a lawyer turned novelist, to sit on a commission to study the death penalty. Turow's storytelling ability transforms what he learned during that inquiry into a thought-provoking treatise based upon his experience in capital cases, personal interviews, extensive reading, and the proceedings he attended. His measured, deliberate voice makes sure every word receives the right emphasis, as though he were speaking to a jury. Neither his delivery nor his rhetoric proselytizes, and listeners will never be sure on what side of the polemic he stands, until the last word of the audiobook reveals his verdict. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
Sober thoughts on capital punishment. Over his years as a prosecutor, bestselling novelist Turow (Reversible Errors, 2002, etc.) evolved from holding Aquarian views on human nature to holding Hobbesian ones. Still, when it came to the death penalty, he says in this brief collection of ruminations, he knew the cautionary lessons and considered himself an agnostic on the issue. But in 2000, when the governor of Illinois appointed a commission, including Turow, to investigate the state�s capital-justice system, it was a moment of truth: "No more dodging my conscience, no more mouthing liberal pieties while secretly hoping some conservative showed up to talk hard-nosed realities." Turow now had to ask himself about the goals of such punishment, whether some individuals were perdurably evil and what kind of power the government should be allowed to wield. On a practical level, he found much wanting in the Illinois system: that confessions no longer had the weight they once did (especially when beaten out of suspects); that "emotional momentum" to solve particularly repellent crimes can result in fastening onto the first suspect and chewing away long after the bone has gone cold; that the creeping influence of victims� rights obscured the character of the defendant and the crime involved; and that deterrence simply was not a compelling rationale. Philosophically, Turow hesitates over the question of moral proportions, the idea that the punishment of a crime be an unequivocal statement of moral order. As for Illinois, he found its capital-justice system sprawling and arbitrary, without logic as to the selections for execution, and lacking a guiding hand of reason. The commission�srecommendations—specific ones, keeping the option of death to a minimum—were ignored by the get-tough political agenda of the new governor. Well-presented, if dry and hardly original. In a handful of sorry examples from Illinois, Turow's storytelling talents shine.
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