Final Words

by 578 Men and Women Executed on Texas Death Row

In 1976 the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the legality of capital punishment in their ruling on Gregg v. Georgia. In the forty-six years since the decision was handed down, 1,551 convicted prisoners have been executed.
The United States is the only Western nation―and one of four advanced democracies―that regularly applies the death penalty. While the death penalty is legal in twenty-seven states, only twenty-one have the means to carry out death sentences. Of those states, Texas has executed the most prisoners in recent history, putting 578 people to death since the 1976 ruling, beginning with Charlie Brooks in 1982. Texas retains the third-largest death row population, behind California and Florida.
In the summer of 2020, the Trump administration broke a nearly seventeen-year stay during which the federal government did not sanction any executions when it put thirteen inmates to death over six months. Seventeen of the forty-five current federal death row inmates, the highest proportion of any state, are incarcerated in Texas.
Final Words addresses the death penalty in the United States as a violation of human rights. Consisting of a collection of government documents relating to the 578 executed Texas inmates, this sweeping project presents a portrait of each life brought to a violent end, including final moments that are often spent expressing words of love for family and friends, sorrow for victims, and even gratitude. The compilation stands as a stark indictment of institutions that are rampant with racism, classism, and sexism. Each entry, each story, each utterance will challenge readers to answer the is there room for humanity in the American justice system?

Genres: Nonfiction

1184 pages, Hardcover

First published November 14, 2023

Reviews

[Lisa Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is shocking and horrifying. Each entry has the picture and information of a person who was executed, along with the details of prior criminal history and the crime that led to the execution. The details of one case after another after another don't lead to a deadening of the senses, but rather to a growing sense of unease. So many senseless crimes. The stories of the codefendants are included.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was tough read. I grew up in a conservative family, and I was pro-death penalty for a long time. The older I get, and the more knowledge I've gained (along with a healthy skepticism in our justice system), the more I prefer to err on the side of life without parole. When I first started reading this book, I also read Junk Science, which featured some of the very people put to death in Texas convicted on manufactured evidence by a now disgraced dental "expert witness". Not everyone put to death makes a final statement, some just pray, some ask for forgiveness, most tell their family that they love them, some are angry, some defiant, some are scared and tearful, some attest their innocence, a lot of them leave prayers for their fellow death row inmates and the clergy who visit, some thank the Warden, a few are unapologetic for their crimes, and a few welcome the end. Although some of the crimes detailed in the book are atrocious (and I'm not going to lie, I looked up quite a few when I wanted more information), it's hard also not to see the humanity in all of the men and women. So many put to death by Texas committed their crimes at such a young age- 17, 18, 20, having lived brief and often brutal lives before taking a life. Some spent more time on death row than outside prison walls. Most of them come from poverty. And no shade to public defenders, but they don't have the time and resources that the state has. Quite a few have co-defendants that chose to testify in exchange for a plea deal... leaving the unluckiest of their group to face the death penalty alone. That's not to say I think that everyone in Final Words was some innocent lamb. I think most of them were guilty but I personally would rather do away with the death penalty rather than risk putting even one innocent person to death. We know people are wrongly convicted, and to me the death penalty brooks no chance of error... but the system is made up of humans, and humans get things wrong. This book just confirmed my belief that the death penalty is not a deterrent. How many 18 year olds robbing a store are thinking of the death penalty, let alone thinking beyond getting the money and spending it that same day? The victims matter, their lives are worthy of justice... but I don't think the death penalty is the answer.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single person over the age of 18 should read this book. It should be a requirement!