Death at Midnight: The Confession of an Executioner

by Donald A. Cabana

Cabana, a former warden in Massachusetts, Florida, and Mississippi, gives a powerful narrative account of the realities of capital punishment from the beginning of his 25 year career in corrections and culminating with his involvement in the executions of Edward Earl Johnson and Connie Ray Evans. He describes in vivid detail the last two weeks of the latter's life, the secretive world of executions, and his own personal conversion to an anti-death penalty ethic. Cabana currently teaches criminal justice at the University of Southern Mississippi. No bibliography. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Genres: Nonfiction, Crime, Memoir

200 pages, Hardcover

First published May 9, 1996

Reviews

[Pixismiler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, probably more than most people, but that is because I worked at a prison when an inmate was executed. Most of the book is actually not about the execution, but an overview of many of the problems facing corrections. I wish it had spent far more time on executions, but the parts that were, were very true to life. It's very easy to have an opinion on the death penalty, but unless you've had a personal hand in it, you have absolutely no idea.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad's book is on here! That is sooo cool.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have visited Parchman's Death Row and been inside the gas chamber and in the room where the executions now take place...so that's what piqued my interest in this book. It did not disappoint. This is a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at prison life and the emotional toll it all takes. I can only imagine...

[Blythe Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the good fortune of knowing Donald Cabana, years ago, & he was in life as he was in the book. This book will tear your heart out & may or may not change or view of capital punishment. Neither book or Dr. Cabana changed mine.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book because a colleague of mine's father wrote it. It his memoir of working in the Mississippi penal system. Totally eye-opening and extremely well written.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book after recently reading that the author had passed away. I appreciate the transparency with which he wrote. This is especially admirable given the fact he worked in law enforcement and it is important to always maintain a self-assured front. That out of the way, I hoped this book would shine some new understanding on the death penalty debate for me but it did not. It seemed his major argument against had to deal with the manner of death (in this case, the gas chamber) more than anything else. Surely lethal injection has quieted a lot of those concerns in the almost 20 years since the book was written? Still, Cabana proved (to me) that there is a serious need for corrections officials who practice basic human decency toward their population. He also makes a strong case for the benefits of keeping inmates busy, both for the inmates themselves and their guards and administrators.

[Rodney Este · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ended up being a very difficult book to read. Don Cabana was involved at my church while I was in high school and college. He spoke to a group of us a few years later as an adult, recounting a lot of the stories told in this book. The stories always stick with me and in a recent conversation with a friend, I looked up Don’s info to tell my friend. I discovered then that he’d written this book.
It is gut-wrenching. I hesitate to say I enjoyed it because of the dark subject matter, and as I just finished it, I am utterly depressed and feel as though I’ve been kicked in the stomach. But I think it is an important read. As we face so many issues of injustice and considering the recent spate of problems at Parchman, an already notorious prison, it’s a very interesting perspective from someone who was there for a while.

[Waven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book several years ago but sadly can't recall the particulars, but it was an interesting look at the prison system and death row from the inside. I wish I could say more but I'm afraid I would misrepresent it.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read thus book several times, and every time it gets to me.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixture of auto-biography, political commentary, and description of prison life. Interesting look from the view of prison warden.