Living Next Door to the Death House
- Ethics, Culture & Social Issues
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Published: 2003
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Publisher's Description
This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. When a prisoner on death row is executed, it's not just the families of the murderer and the victim who feel the effects. The attorneys, the jury, the law enforcement officers, the prison guards, the wardens overseeing the execution, the chaplains and advisors, the technicians "who prepare the syringe and prick the vein" — all of these people are affected, and they all have powerful stories to tell, stories that are woven together in the riveting narrative of Living Next Door to the Death House. Authors Virginia Stem Owens and David Clinton Owens live in Huntsville, Texas, which has earned a reputation as the death penalty capital of the United States. They call Huntsville "a company town," where the company in question, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, employs almost a quarter of the residents. With so much of the population directly connected to the prison system, the ultimate punishment — meted out as often as once a week — is always "next door." Through candid, compelling interviews with those in Huntsville connected both personally and professionally to the Texas prison system and death row, the authors explore how the steady stream of executions in the town has affected these people and the community at large. As the Owenses show, the ever-present death chamber "reaches out like tentacles to touch the lives of everyone who lives here." Some of the people they talk to are in favor of the death penalty, some are against it, many are conflicted. Living Next Door to the Death House shows unforgettably the human face of one of the most controversial and hotly debated issues in the United States today.
Endorsements (2)
“A hard and thoughtful look from Huntsville, Texas, at our system of punishment and rehabilitation. Written in careful prose, Living Next Door to the Death House examines our prison system's history, presents narrative case studies, and confronts the deeper question of how Christians deal with the death penalty. This is an insider's view from the Execution Day Prayer Group. The Owenses give insight into the horror that humanity is capable of and look at the complex possibilities for solutions, such as a victim-offender mediation program. They manage here to walk the line between sympathy and toughness.”
“Beautifully written. There is a wonderful temperateness and patience in the way the Owenses listen — really listen — to the voices of a community that, in one way or another, must live daily with one of our most wrenching social practices. . . A marvel of clear-eyed journalism, human sympathy, and judicious reflection.”
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