Angel of Death Row

Angel of Death Row
Author: Andrea D. Lyon
Publisher: Regina Ryan Publishing Enterprises Incorporated
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2012-11-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9780988225954

Nineteen times, death penalty defense lawyer Andrea D. Lyon has represented a client found guilty of capital murder. Nineteen times, she has argued for that individual's life to be spared. Nineteen times, she has succeeded. Dubbed the "Angel of Death Row" by the Chicago Tribune, Lyon was the first woman to serve as lead attorney in a death penalty case. Throughout her career, she has defended those accused of heinous acts and argued that, no matter their guilt or innocence, they deserved a chance at redemption. Now, for the first time, Lyon shares her story, from her early work as a Legal Aid attorney to her founding of the Center for Justice in Capital Cases. Full of courtroom drama, tragedy, and redemption, Angel of Death Row is a remarkable inside look at what drives Lyon to defend those who seem indefensible-and to win. There was Annette who was suspected of murdering her own daughter. There was Patrick, the convicted murderer who thirsted for knowledge and shared his love of books with Lyon when she visited him in jail. There was Lonnie, whose mental illness made him nearly impossible to save until the daughter who remembered his better self spoke on his behalf. There was Deirdre, who shared Lyon's cautious optimism that her wrongful conviction would finally be overturned, allowing her to see her grandchildren born while she was in prison. And there was Madison Hobley, the man whose name made international headlines when he was wrongfully charged with the murder of his family and sentenced to death. These clients trusted Lyon with their stories-and their lives. Driven by an overwhelming sense of justice, fairness, and morality, she fought for them in the courtroom and in the raucous streets, staying by their sides as they struggled through real tragedy and triumphed in startling ways. Angel of Death Row is the compelling memoir of Lyon's unusual journey and groundbreaking career.

Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking
Author: Helen Prejean
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2011-02-02
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0307787699

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A profoundly moving spiritual journey through our system of capital punishment and an unprecedented look at the human consequences of the death penalty • "Stunning moral clarity.” —The Washington Post Book World • Basis for the award-winning major motion picture starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn "Sister Prejean is an excellent writer, direct and honest and unsentimental. . . . She almost palpably extends a hand to her readers.” —The New York Times Book Review In 1982, Sister Helen Prejean became the spiritual advisor to Patrick Sonnier, the convicted killer of two teenagers who was sentenced to die in the electric chair of Louisiana’s Angola State Prison. In the months before Sonnier’s death, the Roman Catholic nun came to know a man who was as terrified as he had once been terrifying. She also came to know the families of the victims and the men whose job it was to execute—men who often harbored doubts about the rightness of what they were doing. Out of that dreadful intimacy comes a profoundly moving spiritual journey through our system of capital punishment. Here Sister Helen confronts both the plight of the condemned and the rage of the bereaved, the fears of a society shattered by violence and the Christian imperative of love. On its original publication in 1993, Dead Man Walking emerged as an unprecedented look at the human consequences of the death penalty. Now, some two decades later, this story—which has inspired a film, a stage play, an opera and a musical album—is more gut-wrenching than ever, stirring deep and life-changing reflection in all who encounter it.

Death Row Chaplain

Death Row Chaplain
Author: Earl Smith
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2016-04-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1476777780

A riveting, behind-the-bars look at one of America's most feared prisons: San Quentin-- by a minister to the lost souls sitting on death row. Himself a former criminal, Smith shares the most important lessons he's learned from years of helping inmates discover God's plan for them. Their stories show us that it is still possible to find God's grace and mercy from behind bars, and that it's never too late to turn our lives around.

God Saved Me from Death Row

God Saved Me from Death Row
Author: Lyzza Janette
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 140
Release: 2018-08-20
Genre:
ISBN: 9781725182547

This book is based on a real true crime story that took place in Laredo, Texas during the year 1991, "The Triple-Ax Murder." Miguel Angel Martinez was the first and youngest in Texas to be on death row. Miguel Angel Martinez is still in prison serving a life sentence. His sentence to death was commuted to a life sentence. Miguel Angel Martinez has been eligible for parole since 2006 but keeps getting denied, due to the nature of the crime he "supposedly" committed. His story can be compared to the movie Shawshank Redemption, where he resembles the fictional character, Andy Dupresne. The only difference is that Miguel Angel's story is real and not a fictional movie written by Stephen King. Miguel Angel Martinez came out speaking about his case in a documentary, "Laredo and the Law," directed by Folke Ryden; produced by Sveriges Television (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 2000). Miguel's case got international media exposure. Miguel Angel has also been interviewed for several articles and books pertaining to his case. On August 3, 2018, Miguel Angel Martinez was featured in a true crime docuseries aired by Netflix, "I Am a Killer," in the 10-episode, "Sympathy for the Devil." "If life could be compared to a rose, right now I have only seen and felt the thorns. I have seen no bloom, felt no soft petals or smelled only sweet scent. I used to live under the belief that I did not deserve happiness that my fate was to experience pain and misery. My road to perdition: how my life came to be so defined by one night in January and that became the first major event to determine by my acts and choice, where my path would lead. Experimental or anecdotal record of the years beyond that night. Inward emotional, psychological, and spiritual path that wound through my road to perdition and the anecdotal record of the years beyond that night, the much more accurate and significant part of my story. My whole life is just what it is, so much of it a matter of public record, to be learned and relived by anyone who was not there the first go-round." Miguel Angel Martinez

Among the Lowest of the Dead

Among the Lowest of the Dead
Author: David Von Drehle
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2006-06-26
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780472031238

Publisher Description

Angel of Darkness

Angel of Darkness
Author: Dennis McDougal
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2009-06-27
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 0446562483

Randy Kraft was highly intelligent, politically active, loyal to his friends, committed to his work--and the killer of 67 people--more than any other serial killer known. This book offers a glimpse into the dark mind of a living monster. "To open this book is to open a peephole into hell".--Associated Press. Photographs.

High Magick

High Magick
Author: Damien Echols
Publisher: Sounds True
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2018-10-30
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1683641353

“Magick is not a path for followers; it is a path for questioners, seekers, and anyone who has trouble settling for dogma and pre-formulated answers. Magick is for those who feel the desire to peel away the surface of reality and see what lies beneath. Like various persecuted forms of mysticism, magick promotes direct contact with the source of creation.” —Damien Echols Discover a Powerful Practice for Transforming Yourself and Your Reality At age 18, Damien Echols was sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. “I spent my years in prison training to be a true magician,” he recalls. “I used magick—the practice of reshaping reality through our intention and will—to stave off incredible pain, despair, and isolation. But the most amazing feat of all that practice and study was to manifest my freedom.” With High Magick, this bestselling author shares his first teaching book on the powerful spiritual techniques that helped him survive and transcend his ordeal on death row. Though our culture has consigned “magic” to fiction, stage illusions, or superstitions about dark practices, the magick Damien learned is an ancient Western tradition equal the Eastern practices of Buddhism, Taoism, and yoga in its wisdom and transformative power. Here he brings you an engaging and highly accessible guide for bringing magick into your own life, including: • What is High Magick? Damien clears away the stigma and reveals the history and core teachings of this extraordinary art. • The Four-Fold Breath—a foundational meditation practice to train your mind and body to channel subtle energies. • The Middle Pillar—how to bring divine energy into the central channel of your body for empowerment and healing. • The Qabalistic Cross—a centering technique to help you stay balanced and protected regardless of circumstances. • The Lesser Rituals of the Pentagram—powerful practices for banishing negative energies and invoking energy to manifest your goals. • Working with angelic beings and other spiritual allies to support your practice. • Creating thoughtforms to assist you in your ongoing magickal development. • Guidance for overcoming your doubts, enhancing your visualization skills, creating talismans, practicing magick ethically, and much more. “Magick is a journey,” writes Damien. “It’s a continuously unfolding path that has no end. You can study and practice magick for the rest of your life and you will still never learn everything that it has to teach you.” If you’re ready to discover your untapped potential for co-creating your reality with the energy of the divine, then join this extraordinary teacher to begin your training in High Magick.

The Sun Does Shine

The Sun Does Shine
Author: Anthony Ray Hinton
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2018-03-27
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1250124719

"A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn't commit"--

Last Words of the Executed

Last Words of the Executed
Author: Robert K. Elder
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2010-05-15
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 0226202690

Some beg for forgiveness. Others claim innocence. At least three cheer for their favorite football teams. Death waits for us all, but only those sentenced to death know the day and the hour—and only they can be sure that their last words will be recorded for posterity. Last Words of the Executed presents an oral history of American capital punishment, as heard from the gallows, the chair, and the gurney. The product of seven years of extensive research by journalist Robert K. Elder, the book explores the cultural value of these final statements and asks what we can learn from them. We hear from both the famous—such as Nathan Hale, Joe Hill, Ted Bundy, and John Brown—and the forgotten, and their words give us unprecedented glimpses into their lives, their crimes, and the world they inhabited. Organized by era and method of execution, these final statements range from heartfelt to horrific. Some are calls for peace or cries against injustice; others are accepting, confessional, or consoling; still others are venomous, rage-fueled diatribes. Even the chills evoked by some of these last words are brought on in part by the shared humanity we can’t ignore, their reminder that we all come to the same end, regardless of how we arrive there. Last Words of the Executed is not a political book. Rather, Elder simply asks readers to listen closely to these voices that echo history. The result is a riveting, moving testament from the darkest corners of society.

Sole Survivor

Sole Survivor
Author: Holly Dunn
Publisher: Diversion Books
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2017-11-07
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1682308138

A memoir of hope, healing, and survival, sure to resonate with fans of Jaycee Dugard’s A Stolen Life and Elizabeth Smart’s My Story. On August 28, 1997, just as she was starting her junior year at the University of Kentucky, Holly Dunn and her boyfriend, Chris Maier, were walking along railroad tracks on their way home from a party when they were attacked by notorious serial killer Angel Maturino Reséndiz, aka The Railroad Killer. After her boyfriend is beaten to death in front of her, Holly is stabbed, raped, and left for dead. In this memoir of survival and healing from a horrific true crime, Holly recounts how she lived through the vicious assault, helped bring her assailant to justice, and ultimately found meaning and purpose through service to victims of sexual assault and other violent crimes. She has worked as a motivational speaker and activist and founded Holly's House, a safe and nurturing space in her hometown of Evansville, Indiana.