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Karla Faye Tucker Set Free: Life and Faith on Death Row

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This gripping story about the first woman executed in Texas in over one hundred years draws on accounts from family, prisoners, government officials, and friends to show how God used a remarkable woman to reach countless lives with a message of redemption and joy. Linda Strom, Tucker's spiritual advisor and close friend for eleven years, includes photographs as well as excerpts from Tucker's letters and interviews.

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 2000

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Linda Strom

7 books2 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
Profile Image for John Hanscom.
1,169 reviews17 followers
May 18, 2016
A bias: I do not like this genre of books, so I am giving it "the benefit of the doubt." I read it as it was given to me by a very nice jailer when I was bailing a parishioner out of jail.

Having said that, for this genre, this is pretty good. It is certainly far better written. At the same time, because it is well written, it makes clear the "faults" of this genre:

This book is not really about God, of Ms. Tucker, but Ms. Strom. The first is somewhat understandable; ultimately, God is ineffable. The second is not so understandable - were the book REALLY about God and Ms. Tucker, we would not hear so much about subjects such as her husband's cancer, her son's life difficulties, etc. Much more is devoted to such than to Ms. Tucker [for example, MS. Tucker's marriage and its difficulties are glossed over in passing.

All the "ministers" appear to be somewhat wealthy white persons.

All approaches to the Faith tend to believe their approach is better than others. This is especially true of Protestant Evangelicals. Where there no Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc., in these large prisons?

The faith I love is, somewhat, reduced to being "fire insurance."

Finally, Faith is supposed to comfort the afflicted, and Ms. Strom appears to do well. However, it is also supposed to afflict the comfortable. Nowhere does the book appear to address the societal issues which led Ms. Tucker and others to be in prison, or the issue of prison life and the death penalty itself. Even when Sr. Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun and one of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medaille, who has opposed the death penalty for as long as I can remember, she seems to be there only to comfort Ms. Tucker (which, btw, I am sure she did). This is, again, the Protestant Evangelical bias - if the goal is to help individuals develop a personal relationship with Jesus and to go to heaven, the goal of changing society is secondary. People petition to commute Ms. Tucker's death sentence not because the death penalty is wrong, not because she has been reformed and rehabilitated, but because she has "found Jesus." Would they have done so were she to have the same behavioral reform, but by embracing Islam and submitting to Allah? There is no way of knowing, but I suspect not.
Profile Image for Mandy J. Hoffman.
Author 1 book93 followers
March 1, 2013
The Overview

Set Free is the biography of Karla Faye Tucker, and most importantly, the account of how the grace of God radically changed her life. It briefly looks back at the beginning of her life, but focuses primarily on her life on death row and how God used her to impact so many for the cause of Christ. While it is the story of Karla, it is also the story of how her path crossed with that of the author's and the ministry born from that friendship.

The Readability

The 224 pages can be read in 3 to 4 hours because the story is fascinating. It's not wordy or difficult to follow. It would be an easy book for a teen or the reader who would rather not be reading!

The Highlights

Words can not begin to express how amazing it was to read how God changed her life in such a drastic way. I think it's easy for us to somehow loose sight that a murderer is still a human. This book will help you understand that only a few bad choices are what stand between anyone and life altering a crime.

The Downside

The only downside for me was that I expected the book to be completely about Karla and instead there was quite a lot about other people impacted by Karla.

The Recommendation

I highly recommend this book to anyone. It would be a good read for teenagers (12 and older), too, because it truly does demonstrate how a few bad choices led to such an awful ending. But it also shows that no one is beyond the redemptive grace of God.
1 review1 follower
December 17, 2012
Set Free is a beautifully 224 page memoir, written by Linda Strom. In this book she writes about her eleven year friendship with inmate 777, Karla Faye tucker, at Mountain View Prison, TX. Karla had always been a troubled and troublesome girl, but what she would later do changed history. On June 13, 1983 Karla, alongside Danny, (a friend) stormed into Jerry Dean’s residence, drugged of course, and shot both him and his girlfriend Deborah. On April 11, Karla was found guilty of capital murder and later sentenced to death. She was the first woman to be sentenced to death in Texas for over a hundred years. “ Her execution was part of history.” While on death row, Karla found her true self and began to trust her soul in Christ. After finding him and dedicating so much of her life to him, she fell in love with Dana Brown, an interviewer’s assistant. They talked for about two years and then got legally married, while she was still in prison. She knew her marriage would not last; yet, she still decided to go ahead and marry Dana. Karla not only touched Linda’s heart but Karla also touched the hearts of many other people such as, Pam, Frances, Terry (Linda’s Son), Warden Baggett, as well as many others. Karla’s journey through “life row” as she now called it, demonstrates the fact that forgiveness is key. He who all knows, all forgives, and Karla Faye Tucker’s life is a perfect example of it.
Profile Image for Christina.
406 reviews6 followers
January 7, 2015
I remember her story in the news. I am so thankful for her example of sincere love for Jesus. Whether she was going to be executed or not was almost a side story compared to the amazing tale of how Jesus changed her life completely. I believe there was nothing false about her. It is only sad that she had such a troubled youth which led to her vicious activities. This book is a testimony about the shocking, amazing work that God will gladly undertake for us, if we let Him.
Profile Image for Suzanne.
893 reviews18 followers
July 22, 2025
This book is a story about the life changing power of God and follows Karla Faye Tucker who was the first woman in a hundred years to be executed in Texas in 1998. It is a story of her faith and how her life was changed and I think it is important life lessons for all Christians.
Profile Image for LeAna Randolph.
65 reviews2 followers
February 21, 2020
I never knew about this story and saw the book in the library. On a whim I chose it and I’m glad I did. What a remarkable story of God’s mercy and salvation upon a person. To hear how the Lord saved her and she used that to help point others toward Christ, then and even now, is humbling. A convicted murderer turned into a believer. To read about a sister in Christ who once was lost but had been found, blind but now she sees, made my heart rejoice to the Lord. Although she was still executed by the death penalty, she gladly accepted it knowing that was the consequence of her sin and also knowing to close your eyes in death is to open them in glory! It’s equally amazing to me that the family forgave her for killing their loved ones. So much redemption here! Giving God all the praise! Highly recommend this one!
Profile Image for Virginia.
7 reviews1 follower
February 19, 2010
I read a lot of books, but don't take the time to record most of them on this site, or write a review. But...THIS BOOK WAS SO AWESOME! I am changed. I think everyone should read this book. It affects me the same way the story of Jean Valjean does in Les Mis....but different ;p. It's a story (true) of the power of forgiveness and how aligning our lives with God does such powerful things for ourselves and others. My words here SUCK in describing this book...this story....these truths!!! JUST READ THE DANG BOOK! I KNOW YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!!!!! It makes me want to do as much as I can to be the best I can and serve others in whatever way God wants me to....to the fullest!
Profile Image for Rachel.
14 reviews3 followers
May 8, 2015
A powerful and moving story. I love true stories like this. It could have easily been a five-star book...I just wish so badly that the editing was better. It seemed like the author just wanted to cram every single memory that she had of this woman into a book. It was disorganized and overwhelming. But worth reading. The story really overcomes the editing flaws. The story *deserves* a better book, if that makes sense.
Profile Image for Joan Campbell.
Author 11 books31 followers
January 14, 2014
This was an interesting biography about Karla Faye Tucker, the brutal murderer who became a Christian on death-row. There is almost no focus on her crimes, only on her life in prison, and the wonderful mentor and role-model that she became to those around her. It certainly shakes up one's opinion about the death sentence!
Profile Image for Steven.
Author 2 books31 followers
August 17, 2021
ANNOINTED.

This book will make you think about a lot of things. Crime and punishment, the death penalty, and the power of God to change lives.

GREAT BOOK.

**************
(And now a little housekeeping note....)

I understand the author's desire to limit the attention she paid to the crime itself and some of the legal wrangling, but I would like one question answered: how does anyone get the death penalty following a confession? Even in Texas, a confession is a trade-off: if my client confesses to everything, you agree to reduce the charges to second-degree and the death penalty is off the table. If she went into trial a changed woman knowing she would confess, why didn't her lawyer negotiate a better deal even at that late stage? As a believer, I admire her newfound integrity, but as a lawyer, I'm struggling not to consider this a miscarriage of justice. I'm sure it was addressed on appeal, but like most things, the appellate stage was probably too late.
Profile Image for Caroline Anderson.
18 reviews2 followers
May 21, 2020
This book is absolutely a must read. It is very eye opening and encouraging. The women in this book have dealt with horrible pain and suffering yet they still live as people who have been forgiven. If they can extend forgiveness to others then surely I can as well.
Profile Image for Tamhack.
328 reviews9 followers
March 24, 2012
This book mainly deals with Karla's conversion to Christianity while she was in prison. How this conversion gave her strength and touched the lives of others while she was on death row (She called it Life Row) for the 2 brutal murders with a pick axe 14 years ago while she was on drugs and didn't have much positive direction in her life when she was younger.

"Petite, curly-haired, 23-year-old Karla Faye Tucker, when not glassy-eyed under the effects of the multitude of drugs she tended to swallow at one sitting, may have looked like some proud mother's honor student. The fresh-faced Texan, however, by the time June 13, 1983, rolled around, had lived a life hard enough to have erased any schoolgirl whispiness from the core of her eyes. Innocence hadn't slowly evaporated in Karla Faye's case; it had been devoured painfully, masticated by a world that chewed her up halfway before she learned to bite back.

She would later describe herself during that time in her life as being a mixed-up, peer-pressured, radical whose life had been a succession of last-minute decisions, all without fear of consequence, all bad, all rotten. If one were to watch her face as the sun went down that June, 1983, they would have seen the expression of someone who was, as she were to tell TV interviewer Larry King years later, "crazy, violent."

She did have a glow about her as you watched her interviews. I think she was genuine and wasn't using her conversion to manipulate the systems like others have done.

It does bring up the question of the death penalty--After reading several books on the death penalty (Sister Helen Prejean- Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents; Dead Wrong by Michael A. Mello), to the conclusion that with the injustice of our legal system (For example, Fred Kemper-the Coed Killer, just has life in prison), the death penalty is not a deterrent and these people should just have life imprisonment without a chance of parole to think about their wrongs, maybe change before they die and maybe have some good influence on others.

"Karla Faye Tucker was convicted of murder in Texas in 1984 and put to death in 1998

Karla Faye Tucker (November 18, 1959 – February 3, 1998) was convicted of murder in Texas in 1984 and put to death in 1998. She was the first woman to be executed in the United States since 1984, and the first in Texas since 1863. Due to her gender and widely publicized conversion to Christianity, she inspired an unusually large national and international movement advocating the commutation of her sentence to life imprisonment, a movement that included a few foreign government officials."

Quotes from the book:
"Allowing unforgiveness to remain in our hearts is like ignoring the erosion. Our hearts become eroded and if we don't forgive, if we don't move forward, our lives are destroyed. Forgiveness in not denying, ignoring or forgetting what we experienced or how we feel. In spite of our best efforts to forget what we've done to others or what others have done to us, we can't forget the past. ...
There are two ways, however to remember an event. One is by reliving it, allowing the pain, anger, fear, or bitterness to consume or control us. ... The other way of remembering is to allow God's process of forgiveness to be activated in our lives. Painful events are a fact of history. They happened, but no longer control us.
Forgiveness is process." 55
Poem from one of the author's relatives after losing son:
Faith is
To believe when there is no answer
To see purpose in the tragic
To keep the vision even in darkness
To envision the possibility of God
To endure as pain demands
To accept unwanted loss
To affirm life fully
To flee not death
To see treasures in each moment of being
To shut all doors to despair
To unite the broken pieces of life
To dare to live again

Profile Image for Peter Locke.
25 reviews
September 16, 2024
Wanted more about the story of the crime. Too much about her story with God, but knew what I was getting into. Skipped 100 pages and read last chapter. Read in Basic Training
Profile Image for Keshia Burchette.
596 reviews3 followers
March 14, 2019
Such a fantastic testament to God!
I don't know if you remember the story of Karla Faye Tucker-she was the first woman executed in over 100 years in Texas. She started smoking pot when she was 7 or 8 and started doing heroin when she was 10. Her life only went downhill from there for a while. She did drugs, partied and became a prostitute. Her and a friend ended up brutally murdering 2 people (they called her the pickax killer).
She ended up running from the law and lying until finally she was saved and gave her life to Christ. She then confessed and testified against her friend. She got the death penalty and her whole time on Death Row she ministered to people and brought so many people closer to Christ.
A ministry team went there one year and ended up making it into an annual trip. Karla was so full of faith and love for the Lord that the ministry team couldn't stay away. The lady who wrote the book was one of the team leaders and she took several people there over the years to meet Karla and Karla ended up turning so many lives around.
Karla made many appeals to be sentenced to life instead of the death penalty but they were all denied. She wasn't scared of dying because she knew where she was going but she wanted to keep ministering to people and helping them live for the Lord.
This book is such a true testament to Christ and it shows that His forgiveness knows no bounds.
Profile Image for Zippy.
43 reviews23 followers
September 6, 2008
This book stayed with me long after I finished reading it and it is one I will read again, for sure. It is a very honest account of the life and death of Karla Faye Tucker, who committed a terrible crime, and paid the ultimate price for it.

More than that though, it is a tale of redemption and forgiveness. Karla was not a good person when she committed the crime but was transformed in later years when she became a Christian, and you only have to see a photo of her to see God's love shining from within her. The forgiveness she received from the family of one of her victims is breathtaking, the strength of character it takes to open your heart and forgive your sister's murder, is beyond the understanding of most of us.

The world is not a better place for Karla's execution, but there are so many lessons to be learned from her story, and I certainly feel far richer for having read this book.
Profile Image for Marsha.
Author 3 books1 follower
August 24, 2015
Kayla Fay Tucker was the first woman executed in Texas in over a hundred years. She was executed on February 3, 1998, by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas. She was the first woman executed in the United States since 1984, and the first in Texas since 1863. She had been on drugs when she was involved in the murder of two people, but the book does not give horrifying details, because I feel that the author wants readers to like Kayle Faye, and not think badly of her. She did, however, learn to be remorseful, and became a Christian, and shared her beliefs with others on death row. She became at peace with dying and felt she was returning home to Christ. I am glad that at least during her 14 years in prison she learned to try and help others. Others were drawn to her positive attitude. It really is just a shame that she did not find this peace and love until she was in jail and not earlier in her life.
Profile Image for Koren .
1,172 reviews40 followers
July 4, 2016

I bought this book because the girl on the cover looked like the girl next door. She looks so happy and has such a beautiful smile. Nothing could be further from the truth. This book is about a girl who killed two people with a pick axe. However, I was disappointed to find out this was not a true crime book. It is mostly about the author and how she goes to prisons to convert prisoners to Christ. There is NOTHING at all in the book about the murder itself. She is a very religious person. It did make me want to learn more about this crime and it seems there are short stories in compilation books but no entire book about Karla Faye Tucker. There is an e-book short that is 67 pages and I am thinking about getting it but if you want to read a true crime book this is not the one.
Profile Image for Adrian.
459 reviews3 followers
August 25, 2015
A redemptive story of a lost woman who found Christ and the transformation that her life took even behind the walls of a maximum security prison. The story is told from the perspective of her "spiritual advisor" and close friend Linda Strom. In essence, Karla's story is one that few people can identify with, but that all see and understand how a person can change even when faced with imminent death. Worth the read and worth the consideration. Reflect on your freedom and how one can still be free even in prison.
Profile Image for Lynn Hall.
48 reviews1 follower
July 25, 2019
Such a heart felt story of one who can change with the best intentions and with the fulfillment of the word and knowledge of God. Knowing everything karla proved of her change for the better and becoming immensed in the word of God and over come with the holy spirit..I cant see why they didnt give her a reprive. I understand and so did Karla that one should be punished for crimes as bad as hers was..but still to have her death sentence converted to life in prison should have been done. Yet others see it she got what she deserved..maybe so..but still it goes to show you can change spiritually.
Profile Image for Fredrick Danysh.
6,844 reviews196 followers
February 19, 2016
While this work is supposed to be the story of how Karla Faye Tucker developed a religious faith while on death row in Texas, much of the author's personal life story is included. It is full of many contrived conversations. The Texas penal system does not allow many of the acts with visitors that the author claims. I got the impression from reading this that the author was trrying to project her religious journey.
Profile Image for Gayle Vegter.
245 reviews2 followers
August 23, 2016
Wow. This was such an inspiring story. The book only briefly recounts Karla's life before prison; it is mainly about the lives she affected while on Death Row for over a decade. There are some remarkable stories of forgiveness and the joy and compassion this woman radiated to everyone who knew her. I felt whispers of the Holy Spirit as I read it and I had to pause for tears many times. A very uplifting read!
Profile Image for Natalie Weber.
Author 3 books60 followers
April 28, 2019
An inspiring reflection on the life of infamous death row inmate Karla Faye Tucker and the transformation God wrought in her life. The book itself is more of a collection of memoirs that include a variety of individuals and not only the namesake. I would have preferred more of a fluid story that interwove all the side stories, but I appreciated reading of the author’s heart for reaching women in prison and sharing the love of Jesus with them.
164 reviews
November 28, 2013
No matter what kind of challenges we face in life God is always next to us. God is always good - even when things don't turn out the way you want it to. This book was super and really made you think about your own life. If Karla can come to Christ with all of the challenges and burdens she was carrying, then why can't you?
Profile Image for Frances Calloway.
4 reviews
May 19, 2016
Intriguing

After having lost a son at the age of 30, one of my twin daughters suggested that I read this book. She said that she was able to get rid of her anger towards God. Although I still don't understand why he took a young vibrant man who loved everyone he met, I've come to terms with it.
Profile Image for Bonnie Palmer.
70 reviews8 followers
January 7, 2017
The story is powerful and faith building. It is not a particularly well written book, but the story carries the lack of skillful telling by virtue of it's stark reality. I recommend it for anyone wanting to build their understanding of the true nature and character of our grace and mercy giving God.
Profile Image for Marcia.
55 reviews
December 3, 2017
Karla Faye Tucker grew up in a life that lead her to Death Row. However, God took hold of her and her life does a 180. This is an encouraging and inspiring story of redemption, love, joy. All of it experienced while on Death Row. Everyone she met, she touched their heart. Everyday she confronted her "last day" with peace, hope and great faith. I'm so glad I read this book.
Profile Image for Dionne Bell.
Author 4 books6 followers
August 13, 2018
I have a lump in my throat. This book is one of the most powerful that I’ve ever read. Without being “preachy” or condescending, this book drives home the message of the power and importance of forgiveness.
The book shone upon upon my heart that has greatly impacted me.
A must-read for every human being.
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