The Death Penalty on Trial

I remember Bill Kurtis from when I was a teenager living in Chicago and watching him report the local news every night. I didn't know then that he had a law degree or a sharp-as-a-tack mind. Now I know both, and I'm thankful that he has put both to use in researching and writing this book. The two case histories he profiles make for an engrossing read. They sound the alarm that something is definitely wrong in this country when it comes to our justice system. This is a must-read for anyone who cares about the American justice system or the death penalty. The compelling case that Kurtis makes for abolishing the death penalty cannot be ignored.

Kurtis, an attorney and crime reporter, formerly supported the death penalty. However, Kurtis reports reversing his position upon learning of Illinois'Governor Ryan's decision to commute all the State's death sentences to life in prison after learning that 13 death row inmates had been subsequently found innocent. The book also summarized a nationwide study of 23 years of capital cases and found reversible errors in about 70%. (Similar findings from other studies were also briefly mentioned.) Kurtis then provides details of how two death row inmates had been wrongly convicted. The first involved a fellow Phoenix-area resident - Ray Krone, found guilty in 1992 of murder on the basis of bite marks on the victim that supposedly matched Krone's teeth. Krone was sentenced to death. (There were no supporting fingerprints, and Krone had an alibi via a friend.) Fortunately for Krone, a cousin who worked with dentists took interest in the case, and showed the bite-mark evidence to a forensic expert who immediately concluded that there was no match. Starting with an affidavit to that effect, the cousin then began efforts for a new trial, which was granted on the basis that the first trial's "bite-mark expert video" had been introduced too late for adequate defense review. In the subsequent retrial it was also brought out that the original prosecution bite-mark "expert" was actually a novice, and that his mentor had also concluded that Krone's teeth did not match. (This information had been kept from Krone's defense.) Nonetheless, Krone was again convicted, though this time the judge had doubts and sentenced him to life in prison. Finally, after additional defense efforts, new DNA testing techniques were brought to bear on a previously untested piece of the victim's clothing. This time the results completely exonerated Krone, and identified the real killer (already in prison). The "good news" is that Ray became the 100th person freed from death row since 1973; the "bad news" that he had spent about ten years in prison, and it required the strong efforts of relatives and about $120,000 from them for legal research. Other common major problems cited in the book include inexperienced defense lawyers, prosecutors who lied or suppressed evidence, unreliable eyewitnesses, jailhouse informants trading "information" for leniency, and coerced confessions obtained by disreputable interrogation means. The "bottom-line" for Kurtis is that our legal system is too unreliable for imposing the death penalty.

Whether or not you agree with the death penalty, this is a good book to check out. Kurtis gives eight solid reasons why one should be against the death penalty, and then uses two cases to back those reasons (he gives different examples on the video he has on the same subject for those who believe that only two examples are cursory). Once a death penalty advocate himself, Kurtis changes his mind after Gov. George Ryan commutes the sentence of 164 men after DNA evidence exonerated 13 men (not 2 like the previous reader who couldn't stand it when people falsify info in book reviews said, haha). After hearing about these events, Kurtis looked deep into the judicial system to discover why so many men on death row were found innocent. The flaws he found are listed in the book. A good read for someone who likes to strengthen their own ideas or find out what the opposition is saying. The language is easy to understand and interesting as opposed to technical. If this book doesn't make you at least think a little, you don't think! :)

If you are, the idea of the state (meaning you, the people) killing people, who are convicted of crimes they did not committ ought to make you get on your knees and ask God for forgiveness. Because that is precisely what our criminal justice system does. Human beings are flawed, and the justice system, which human beings have created, is flawed. There have been too many wrongful convictions and one wrong conviction is one too many. The truly scary point is that if the wrong person is being convicted, then the real killer is walking free! Where's the justice in that? This book is easy to read. Anyone with an 8th grade education ought to be able to understand the points discussed in this book. It's time for everyone to wake up!

A onetime capital punishment supporter, award winning journalist Bill Kurtis takes readers through the in's and out's of two cases where the wrong man was convicted and sentenced to death. The cases are discussed are filled with overzealous prosecutors, inexperienced defense attorneys, suppressed evidence and more. Unfortunately these issues are common to death penalty cases. These cases are not anomalies. Kurtis recently appeared on Larry King Live where a prosecutor actually had the gall to suggest that the two cases Kurtis discusses are actually proof that the system works since the convictions were eventually overturned! Never mind that both men lost over a decade of their lives and one was literally days away from execution. Kurtis skillfully shows us that a system rife with inaccuracies is simply not good enough when someone's life is on the line.