
          REVIEWS: 
          Death Sentences
          Reviewed by Rev. Stroupe, NibsNibs Stroupe
          Vol. 22, No. 3, 2000 p. 34
          
          Katya Lezin. Finding Life on Death Row: Profiles of Six
Inmates, Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1999.
          I am opposed to the death_penalty, but I understand
the primal desire for vengeance. If one of my loved ones were
murdered, I would want a shot at revenge. My impulse is nothing new in
human history--it is as old as blood feuds or Hammurabi's Code or Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount. Katya Lezin's compelling book speaks directly to this impulse and testifies strongly to the need for opposition to the death_penalty.
          My opposition to the death_penalty comes from moral,
political, legal, and religious reasons. The moral ground comes from
the dehumanization of those convicted-we must strip them of
their humanity in order to kill them. We as part of the state, become
the killers, and become what we seek to eliminate. The political
ground, as demonstrated so ably in this book, is that the overwhelming
majority of those sentenced to die are poor. The death_penalty is not
a response to murder, it is a response to murder committed by poor
people. The legal reason is connected to the political, pointed out
bluntly in Lezin's book: the appalling lack of adequate legal
representation of those who are poor and are accused of murder. This
reason connects us to the consciousness that is most frightening--far
more people than we wish to admit who are convicted and sentenced to
death are innocent. The religious ground for me as a minister is simple but fundamental: God is the author of life, and the death_penalty violates the Sixth Commandment.
          Katya Lezin touches on all of these in this enlightening
portrait of six people sentenced to die. It reminds us that they really are people, and how callous our process of convicting and sentencing them is. In doing this, the book does not sentimentalize them or their crimes. Lezin does not choose those who may be innocent, though it is unclear about one person. Innocence is not the issue here
state-imposed death is.
          Lezin puts the death_penalty in its terrible context in
our nation's history. The book is well written but is difficult
reading because it is about the power of death: people who are
murdered and people who are executed. Yet, it is is also deeply inspirational reading in its portraits of people who
bring humanity in a destructive and dehumanizing world: the convicted people who turn out to be people after all; the attorneys who work ceaselessly to save their clients; volunteers and ministers who bring humanity and the possibility of life in the midst of death; family members who remain loyal even when their beloved is convicted of murder; prison staff who try to steer a course between the death machine and retaining their humanity.
          Lezin reminds us that the death_penalty kills real
people. In such a situation, one would think that there would be a
meticulous legal process to guard the rights of the accused. What we
see is an appalling death machine that tramples on rights and that
would be comical if it weren't so serious and deadly: a defense
attorney who is drunk at the trial and held in contempt (and indeed,
the next day both attorney and client come from jail to the trial); a
defense attorney who calls no witnesses; a prosecuting attorney who
has a long record of racial discrimination in jury selection but is never reprimanded. Five of the six defendants in the book had court appointed attorneys who were either callous or incompetent. Four are saved because of the work of committed and competent attorneys, paralegals, and volunteers, all of whom are connected
to the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta.
          A recent Columbia University study demonstrated that 67 percent of
death cases are overturned nationally, largely related to the issues
raised here. The Chicago Tribune study in June of the
131 executions during George W. Bush's tenure as governor of Texas
revealed a cynical disregard for justice, and Finding Life on
Death Row testifies to that same process in South_Carolina,
Alabama, and Georgia. This book combines the theoretical struggles
over the death_penalty with portraits of the humanity of those
convicted under it. It is compelling reading. It reminds us of our
humanity and the humanity of others, and it reminds us of the forces
of death that seek to crush that humanity. It is realistic, difficult, and hopeful, and it asks us to take our stands and to be witnesses for life.
          
            Rev. Nibs Stroupe is pastor at Oakhurst Presbyterian
Church in Decatur, Georgia. He is co-author of While We Run
This Race: Confronting the Power of Racism in the Southern
Church.
          
        
