Overview
It is an undisputed fact that Chris Thomas was guilty of participating in a brutal double homicide. He was convicted of killing his girlfriend's parents in November of 1990, was sentenced to death in November of 1991, and was executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia in January of 2000. Chris Thomas was one of the last juvenile offenders to be put to death before the Supreme Court ruled that the execution of juveniles constituted cruel and unusual punishment. In Anatomy of an Execution, Todd C. Peppers and Laura Trevvett Anderson tell the entire story, shedding light on issues surrounding the death penalty-such as the quality of court appointed counsel, the execution of juveniles (from both a constitutional law and public policy perspective), conditions of confinement on death row, and the role of spiritual advisors in the condemned's last days. While providing insight into the legal workings of the modern death penalty system, the book also offers a rare glimpse of a young, condemned man's life before and after the crime: a childhood ravaged by loss and neglect, a toxic first love, the brutal murders, trial and sentencing, and, ultimately, a chance at redemption. This is not an effort to excuse a crime but an assertion that even a murderer's life is worth more than its worst act.
Full Product Details
Author: Todd C. Peppers ,
Laura Trevvett Anderson ,
Marie Deans
Publisher: Northeastern University Press
Imprint: Northeastern University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 3.30cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.635kg
ISBN: 9781555537135
ISBN 10: 1555537138
Pages: 340
Publication Date: 30 December 2009
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: No Longer Our Product
Availability: Awaiting stock
The supplier is currently out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out for you.
Reviews
-Anatomy of an Execution is a serious treatment worth reading for anyone interested in the court system and the death penalty.---Roanoke Times
Anatomy of an Execution is a serious treatment worth reading for anyone interested in the court system and the death penalty. --Roanoke Times
Roanoke Times
Anatomy of an Execution is a serious treatment worth reading for anyone interested in the court system and the death penalty. -- Roanoke Times A major addition to death-penalty literature. -- Washington Post Book World
Author Information
TODD C. PEPPERS is an associate professor in the Department of Public Affairs at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. He is the author of Courtiers of the Marble Palace: The Rise and Influence of the Supreme Court Law Clerk. LAURA TREVVETT ANDERSON was Chris Thomas's high school teacher, corresponded with him extensively while on death row, and served as his spiritual advisor during his final days in the death house.
