"A thought-provoking, masterfully told work of literary journalism about a shocking crime committed by a teenager-and its even more shocking aftermath In 1985 in Gary, Indiana, a black teenaged girl kills an elderly white woman in a robbery gone wrong. The shock and awe of the case captivates the state, whose citizens cry out for vengeance. Soon after, Paula Cooper, the fifteen-year-old killer, is sentenced to death. Indiana's minimum age for the...

Veteran journalists Martin Clancy and Tim O'Brien pull back the curtain of secrecy that surrounds Supreme Court deliberations and reveal the crucial links between landmark capital-punishment cases and the lethal crimes at their root.

This book looks at one person's experience in a trial that ended in execution and examines the facts, arguments, and opinions on capital punishment from around the globe.

This volume explores the topic of the death penalty by presenting varied expert opinions that examine many of the different aspects that surround this issue. The editors investigate topics such as whether capital punishment is legally and morally just or unjust, how much of a safeguard it is to society, and whether it is applied fairly. The viewpoints are selected from a wide range of highly respected and often hard-to-find sources and publications....

"This book addresses the myriad controversies and examines the evidence regarding capital punishment in America. It answers questions regarding topics like the efficacy of capital punishment in deterring violent crime, the risks of mistakes, legal issues related to capital punishment, and the monetary costs of keeping inmates on death row. Presents 'Perspectives' from various writers, allowing readers to consider opinions from many informed individuals...

Discusses the controversy of the death penalty, whether or not it is a positive deterrent and the negative aspects it creates.

Filmmaker Werner Herzog explores a triple homicide case in Conroe, Texas and "probes the human psyche to explore why people kill--and why a state kills". Through intimate conversations with those involved, including 28-year-old death row inmate Michael Perry (scheduled to die within eights days of appearing on-screen), Herzog achieves what he describes as 'a gaze into the abyss of the human soul.' Herzog's inquiries also extend to the families of...

"Once, Detective Buck Schatz patrolled the city of Memphis, chasing down robbers and killers with a blackjack truncheon and a .357. But he's been retired for decades. Now he's frail and demented, and Rose, his wife of 72 years, is ill and facing a choice about her health care that Buck is terrified to even consider. The future looks short and bleak, and Buck's only escape is into the past. But Buck's past is under attack as well. After 35 years on...