Waiting To Die: Life On Death Row

by Richard M. Rossi

An account of the challenging realities prisoners who are sentenced to die for their crimes must face examines the rules that govern death row inmates' lives, including medical neglect, inadequate food, and psychological abuse. Original.

Genres: True Crime

237 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2004

Reviews

[Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard for me to rate this book or write a review of it. I think it is a desperate attempt by the author to reach out to someone who might be able to make a difference in a system that seems largely indifferent if not downright cruel. Having said that, the author repeatedly emphasizes the fact that he committed his crime while using cocaine, as if the cocaine committed the crime and he was merely a vehicle. Also, while he's correct that people who commit heinous crimes don't receive the death penalty - and may not even be incarcerated (see Karla Homolka), I don't think someone else doing something worse negates the fact that you have also taken a human life. Having said that, how can I justify the death penalty? I don't think that Goodreads is the appropriate forum for discussing my political views on all of this, but I will say that I had to take a lot of long breaks while I was reading the book because it was just completely overwhelming sometimes.

I do think this book would have been more effective if Rossi wrote more about the human experience of being incarcerated on death row than focusing entirely on condemning the death penalty. Anyone can do that. There are a lot of articulate activists who are already doing that. Very few people can write about what it is like to actually be on death row. Very few people can humanize that experience. I think the little details about feeding birds and arguing with one another about what TV shows to watch had a bigger impact on me than the paragraphs about the evils of society.

[Hailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Do we solve our problems by killing some more, when killing is what we say we abhor.” The more I read about death row and the death penalty the more I begin to detest the lack of humanity shown in our criminal justice system. Just because someone has committed a crime, does not mean they are incapable of change. Just because someone has committed a crime, does not mean they are not worthy of humanity and dignity. Rossi beautifully captures the lack of humanity we continue to show the convicted while also pointing out how the system designed to punish “the worst of the worst” hardly ever actually impacts that minority. Instead, it is arbitrarily applied. I was told I should read this before I fully dive into the world of capital defense. This book only put more of a fire in me to become a public defender, and hopefully one day, a capital defender. Everyone Deserves. Representation.

[B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

The man shot someone, robbed someone else and murdered them in an attempt to sell a typewriter that he stole in order to support a coke habit. After waiting about two decades on death row, he wrote a book. All I can say is the marketing person, the person in charge of the blurb, writing the book would have made better copy. Rossi whines. He talks about how unfair the system is. This book does not provide deep insights into what life on death row is like. It's about how he said "sorry" so that should make it okay - a plea for someone to fix the mess he got himself into. My little one can put together a more comprehensive argument as to why she should be able to have ice cream for breakfast. What could have been interesting was just terrible.

[Joe McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book looks at the opposite side of a crime, that of the ciminal. Although I agree with many of the author's ideas concerning the dealth penaltyand life without parole, I found this book to be a little self-serving and slow at times. If one can get through the slower parts it is a good book, if for no other reason than to see what it is like to be on Death Row.

[Claire Yar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't able to get through the whole thing. It was really dry and not very interesting. I really wanted to like it, but I found the author whiny and while he claimed he took responsibility for his drug fueled crime, I didn't really find it to be so sincere.