In the shadow of death : restorative justice and death row families
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Bibliographic Information
In the shadow of death : restorative justice and death row families
Oxford University Press, 2007
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Note
Bibliography: p. 283-294
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The press called Martin's actions a "crime spree." Already convicted of armed robbery, Martin was facing the death penalty. In less than two weeks the jury would decide his fate. Terrified that his son would be sentenced to die, Phillip did the only thing he felt he could do: in an act of faith and desperation in his garage with the car exhaust running, Phillip made the consummate sacrifice to spare his son the ultimate punishment. Ironically, his suicide
presented Martin's with another chance at life; the jury, moved by Martin's loss, spared his life.
Phillip's story-like those of the other parents, siblings, children, and cousins chronicled in this book-vividly illustrates the precarious position family members of capital offenders occupy in the criminal justice system. At once outsiders and victims, they live in the shadow of death, crushed by trauma, grief, and helplessness. In this penetrating account of guilt and innocence, shame and triumph, devastating loss and ultimate redemption, the voices of these family members add a new
dimension to debates about capital punishment and how communities can prevent and address crime.
Restorative justice theory, which views violent crime as an extreme violation of relationships, searches for ways to hold offenders accountable and meet the needs of victims and communities torn apart by the crime, organizes these narratives and integrates offenders' families into the process of transforming conflict and promoting justice and healing for all. What emerges from hundreds of hours' worth of in-depth interviews with family members of offenders and victims, legal teams, and leaders
in the abolition and restorative justice movements is a vision of justice strongly rooted in the social fabric of communities. Showing that forgiveness and recovery are possible in the wake of even the most heinous crimes, while holding victims' stories sacred, this eye-opening book bridges the
pain of living in the shadow of death with the possibility of a reparative form of justice.
Anyone working with victims, offenders, and their families-from lawyers and social workers to mediators and activists-will find this riveting work indispensable to their efforts.
Table of Contents
Introduction to Book:
Part One: The Shadow of Death:
1: Why do Offenders' Families Matter?
2: Understanding Restorative Justice
3: Meet the Families
Part Two: Storytelling:
4: Death Penalty Trials
5: "You Didn't Punish Him, You Punished Me"
6: Children of the Condemned
7: Psychological Distress of Family Members, and Family Systems
Part Three: Restorative Justice:
8: Life is Different: Living with Outcomes other than the Death Sentence
9: Organizing for Abolition
10: Reaching Out
11: Systems Failure
12: Shining Light in the Shadows
by "Nielsen BookData"