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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.
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