Death and Justice: An Expose of Oklahoma's Death Row Machine

by Mark Fuhrman

Book Overview

Controversy rages about capital punishment as innocent men and women are being released from death rows all over the country. Are innocent people being executed? Is capital punishment justice or is it... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060009179
• ISBN13: 9780060009175
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: William Morrow
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

An eye-opening experience for an Okla. Native!

I wish I could make every Okla. Co. citizen read DEATH AND JUSTICE. It might not change their mind regarding the death penalty, but it surely rocks the foundation of sand their arguement stands on. This book should be read by every person who is interested in the death penalty (pro or con). The only problem with the book is that if the reader is not familiar with criminal procedure, the book may seem a bit confusing at times. But, press through it! It all makes sense in the end!

We Can Open A Cell Door. We Can't Raise The Dead.

This book is wonderful and thought provoking. If we incarcerate someone who indeed is an innocnet person, they can be let out of prison if they are found to be innocent. Once they are killed through the death penalty, we can't bring them back to life. For the sake of the admitedly very few who are wrongly convicted and for the sake of their families, even though their numbers might be very few, let's abolish the death penalty. I just can not understand the reasoning for the death penalty if even one single person across the country has ever been sentenced to death for a crime that they didn't do. For those who believe in the death penalty, how would you feel if you or your own son or daughter stood the chance of being wrongly convicted of a crime and the punishment was death? How would you feel if there was a conviction and death was the punishment? You would probably be against the death penalty if that occured. Since that would probably be the case, how is it ok to give someone else the death penalty realizing that this is a person who is someone else's son or daughter who might be innocent of the crime? Do we believe that if it's our own son or daughter who might be wrongly convicted there definitely should not be a death penalty, however, if it's sommeone else's son or daughter who might be wrongly convicted and sentenced to death, this is just a chance that has to be taken? How moral is that? Besides all of this, only the Lord has the authority to take a life. Since when has He relinquished this authority to us? He hasn't. Read this book. Abolish the death penalty. We can let an innocent person out of prison. We can't raise an innocent person from the dead.

What constitutes guilty?

The issue discussed is not merely whether or not these people were guilty; the issue is the mismanagement of the crime lab in Oklahoma County. The DA appeared to know that Ms. Gilchrist was distorting facts and manipulating evidence, yet he was so intent on gaining a conviction, he participated in this travesty called the Oklahoma county judicial system. He should have been disbarred at the very least, and charged with criminal conspiracy. As a person who lives in this state but does not personally believe in the death penalty, I tried to read this with an open mind. Anti-death penalty advocates are not saying these criminals should be allowed to roam free in our society. They should absolutely be imprisoned for the remainder of their lives, so they can hurt no one else. DNA evidence lessens the chance of the "wrong" person being convicted, as long as it is used correctly. Surely even the strongest supporter of the death penalty has no desire to see innocent people put to death.

Extremely thought provoking

I too have been a dyed in the wool "death penalty advocate". While the read seemed like an investigative report at times (given the authors background and the books subject matter this isn't all bad) it opened the door to a world most of us civilians rarely if ever see. How many of us hold doctors, police, clergy and other professions to a standard (absolute perfection) that doesn't exist in our own professions or personal lives. Mr. Furhman has been able to shed light on the humanity (and all its fragilness) that exists in the life and death decisions made in our courts. Mind opening and thought provoking.

A reader from wisconsin.

As an objective look at the criminal process, this book fails. The author offers his opinions in how case should be handled-however, one could argue he is well qualified being a police officer. This book is an excellent account of flaws in the criminal justice system that lead all the way to death row. He looks specifically at oklahoma countie's frontier justice attitude and the danger it poses to innocent human life. He writes with sympathy for the prosecutors and their flaws and the same time building a case against the death penalty. The book is if you will a death-penalty advocate conversion to a opponet. Its a fascinating book that seriously changed my views on the death penalty.