Overview

Many organizations are engaged in a race to prevent the execution by lethal injection of death sentenced prisoners in Texas (and elsewhere in the USA). Some of these men and women claim to be completely innocent, as described in this book. Texas is the most punitive place within one of the harshest penal systems in the world. Michael O'Brien - who was himself wrongly convicted of murder - dissects a selection of Death Row cases with the eye of a man who has spent years watching how miscarriages of justice happen and why. He explains how practitioners, politicians and others are in denial and how livelihoods depend on a conveyer belt from the courts to the execution chamber. Aided by bias, discrimination and prejudice he describes a killing process triggered by unfair trials, supposed expert evidence and closed minds. This is just one hallmark of a country obsessed with guns, violence and the ultimate penalty. No legal system should take away human lives, especially one tarnished by defects of the kind the author sets out in this book. Extract: 'Can you just imagine being an individual who is innocent but facing execution, whether in Texas or elsewhere? Or you were on Death Row but you did not take part in any killings, just got caught up in the hysteria? Can you picture the pressure and abject loneliness of serving 15 years or more, and then the State setting a date to kill you?'

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9781909976924

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Reviews

'A must read, an excellent new book by Mike O'Brien... A powerful critique... a critical comparative analysis of USA/UK human rights standards. Packed with cases. A compelling case for abolition.'-- Dr Michael Naughton, Bristol University, Empowering the Innocent Project.

Author Information

Michael O'Brien is a survivor of one the most emblematic miscarriages of justice in Britain. Known as 'The Cardiff Newsagent Three' case, it has become a key point of reference for campaigners against injustice. His autobiography The Death of Justice (2008) recounts these events and Prisons Exposed (2013) was awarded the People's Choice Book Award at Amazon. He is a motivational speaker and acts as an appropriate adult at police stations, and as a Mackenzie Friend for those who cannot get legal representation.

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