Last Words and the Death Penalty : Voices of the Condemned and their Co-Victims

by Vollum, Scott

• ISBN13: 9781593322649
• ISBN10: 159332264X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-12-15
• Publisher: Lfb Scholarly Pub Llc

Summary

Vollum analyzes the content of the last statements of the condemned and statements made by co-victims; he seek to "give voice" to these two different groups. Vollum finds that the most dominant themes among the condemned center around transformation, redemption, and positive messages of connection to others. The most dominant themes of co-victims are more conflicting with a mix of frustration with the death penalty process, relief that it is over, and the desire for justice or revenge. Through their own words, we learn that the death penalty is neither a soothing salve for the pain and suffering of co-victims nor simply an extraction of evil and irredeemable criminals.

Author Biography

Scott Vollum is an Assistant Professor of Justice Studies at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The human context of the death penalty	p. 9
Restorative justice and the death penalty	p. 55
Giving voice to the condemned and their victims	p. 79
Data and methodology	p. 89
Last statements of the condemned	p. 109
Co-victim statements	p. 163
Discussion and conclusion	p. 231
Appendix A	p. 249
Appendix B	p. 267
References	p. 285
Index	p. 301
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