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One Woman's Search for the Men Who Walked off America's Death Row
John Wiley & Sons
July 2006
On Sale: July 11, 2006
Featuring: Joan Cheever; Walter Williams
320 pages
ISBN: 0470017503
EAN: 9780470017500
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
As a young lawyer Joan Cheever served as co-counsel for Walter Williams, an inmate on Texas' Death Row. For nine years she attempted to stave off his execution until, in October 1994, his chances finally ran out. At his request Joan stood beside him at his execution; it was an experience that changed the course of her life. In the months following Walter's execution Joan continued to ask herself how events might have been different: would Walter have committed the crime if he'd had better opportunities in life or a more supportive family? And how would he have lived if he had been granted a second chance at life? The only people who could help to answer these gnawing questions were other convicted murderers. In 1972, the US Supreme Court abolished the death penalty: a ruling that stayed in place until 1976, granting hundreds of convicted killers a second chance at life. Joan embarked on an exhaustive and dangerous search to track down and interview these murderers, most of whom didn't want to be found. Many had built entirely new lives and had become valued members of their communities; a very small number had killed again. Joan Cheever interviewed the murderers to find out if they had managed to rebuild their lives; she also spoke with the families of victims. The personal stories that she tells here contribute to a ground-breaking exploration of the issues at the very heart of the capital punishment debate.
 Media BuzzMorning Edition - August 17, 2006
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