Witness: An Insider's Narrative of the Carceral State

by Lyle C. May

A first-hand account of the death penalty's wholly destructive nature. 

In Witness , Lyle C. May offers a scathing critique of shifts in sentencing laws, prison policies that ensure recidivism, and classic "tough on crime" views that don't make society safer or prevent crime. These insightful and analytical essays explore capital punishment, life imprisonment, prison education, prison journalism, as well as what activism from inside looks like on the road toward abolishing the carceral state. 

No outside journalist can adequately report what happens inside death row or what it is like to live through thirty-three executions of people you know. May's grounded writings in Witness challenge the myths, misconceptions, and misinformation about the criminal legal system and death in prison, guiding readers on a journey through North Carolina's congregate death row, where the author has spent over twenty years of his life. 

With a foreword by activist, lawyer, and professor Danielle Purifoy, and drawing on the work of Angela Y. Davis, Mariame Kaba, and other abolitionist scholars, Witness shows there is more to life under the sentence of death than what is portrayed in crime dramas or mass media. Lyle C. May's life, journalism, and activism are a guidebook to abolitionism in practice.

Genres: Politics

288 pages, Paperback

Published April 16, 2024

Reviews

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this kind of book is very important because we have this idea of what prison is like that's so far from removed from the reality of incarceration at every level (I've heard so many "I would get to just workout and read all day" that it's become obvious the movies have done a great job at giving people the impression that imprisonment is just a boring vacation with extra politics) that being made to think about it from the perspective of someone who is inside of that system is an immensely important exercise.

I'm not new to the question of prison abolition so a lot of the things May talked about were already pretty familiar to me but for someone who is rather new to the question I think this book would be a tremendous place to start because it's really accessible and focuses largely on lived experience rather than theory so it's neither dry nor jargon heavy.

There's a fair bit about the author being a reconnecting Catholic, I didn't think it was preachy so much as trying to reach people of that faith/people who are culturally Catholic but if you're uncomfortable with that stuff just be aware that it's there.

[abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think everyone should read this book written from death row- prison works because it’s hidden and disconnected from the outside. Once that curtain is lifted, it’s hard to ignore how absolutely horrific and inhumane and shameful it is.

[Maxwell Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sobering and essential account of the inner workings of the carceral state. Painstakingly researched, and presents concrete appeals to policy and ideology shifts while maintaining an abolitionist stance on the inhumanity of the prison system

[Kathleen Moore]

good overview of prisons and the carceral system for someone with limited knowledge from someone on death row

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible !! Extremely well written & researched, humanizing, and touching ✋ honestly a solid summation of at least a year or two of my CCJ undergrad courses

[Apollo Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

essential to read as a way to understand what happens in death row as a prisoner