Dead Run: The Shocking Story of Dennis Stockton and Life on Death Row in America

by Joe Jackson, William F. Burke Jr.

In June, 1983, Dennis Stockton entered Death Row in Virginia's state penitentiary, accused of a murder he insisted he had not committed. For the next 12 years he remained there, during which time he helped plan the only successful mass escape from Death Row in our history (though he ultimately decided not to join the escapees), developed a career as a writer through a diary and newspaper columns, and continually proclaimed his innocence. His explosive diary entries - published in the (Norfolk) Virginian Pilot - about life on Death Row made him a marked man among prisoners and guards alike. Despite strong evidence of his innocence, however, Stockton was executed on September 27, 1995. Dead Run is the stunning story of Dennis Stockton's life in "the monster factory," his name for Death Row. Written by his editor at the Virginian Pilot and the reporter who investigated his claims of innocence, it is a riveting true-life thriller and essential reading for anyone with an opinion on the death penalty.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, Biography, History

299 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Joe Jackson is the author of seven works of nonfiction and a novel. His nonfiction includes: Leavenworth Train, a finalist for the 2002 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime; Dead Run: The Shocking Story of Dennis Stockton and Life on Death Row in America, with co-author William F. Burke and an introduction by William Styron; A Furnace Afloat: The Wreck of the Hornet and the Harrowing 4,300-mile of its Survivors; A World on Fire: A Heretic, an Aristocrat, and the Race to Discover Oxygen; The Thief at the End of the World: Rubber, Power, and the Seeds of Empire, one of Time magazine's Top Ten Books of 2008; and Atlantic Fever: Lindbergh, His Competitors, and the Race to Cross the Atlantic, released by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in May 2012. A first novel, How I Left the Great State of Tennessee and Went on to Better Things, was released in March 2004.

His seventh work of nonfiction - Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary - was released by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in October 2016; it chronicles the life of Oglala Lakota holy man Black Elk, best known for his 1932 Black Elk Speaks, written in collaboration with the Nebraska poet-laureate John Neihardt. Jackson's biography received the following honors and awards in 2017: Winner of the PEN/​Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography; Best Biography of 2016, True West magazine; Winner of the Western Writers of America 2017 Spur Award, Best Western Biography; Finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography; and One of the Best Books of 2016, The Boston Globe.

Reviews

[Marilyn Sue Michel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conditions of prison, especially Death Row, are mind-numbing and terrifying at the same time. While reading this book I also watched "13th" (2016) and conditions didn't seem to improve much. The book suffers from repetition and dragged-out prose, for which I blame the publisher and the insistence on 300 page books.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book...wow. I couldn't stop reading, but I took my time soaking it all in. This is one of the books that will just stick with you. I will read again.

[Noemi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much like work and I'm one who isn't easily convinced of someone's innocence. I would need cold, hard facts.

[Cynthia L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoping Stockton’s words can begin conversations-if not-start on changing the justice and penitentiary systems.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! The author made me think about my opinion that the death penalty is just. As the story unfolds, the author shows how a possibly innocent man is put to death in Virginia for a murder that happened in the early 1980's. As the story unfolds in the book, questions are raised about guilt. Most of the questions come because the star witness for the prosecution possibly lied.

I finished reading this book on the same day that Virginia carried out it's death sentence on the DC Area Sniper. The DC Area Sniper also tried to claim innocence up to the day of execution, but this was the only similarity between the two men. The DC Area Sniper case is a great example of why I believe in the death penalty.

As for this book, I don't believe Mr. Stockton was guilty of this crime, but he says himself that his life was leading to a violent end. He even admits to killing another man claiming self-defence, but the only other eye witness to the crime told another story. Mr. Stockton put his trust in the courts, but did not get the answer he hoped for.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only book that ever made me cry.

[Patrick O'Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Southern fried speed freak on the skids. Eeeek! Freaking DEATH ROW man! Goddamn scary. And in the end another man possibly put to death for a crime he didn't commit - really scary.

[Graham Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought provoking insider's view of the American prison system and the death penalty.

[Ronnie]

Hello, I'm really glad to see many of you reading this true story which hardly scratches the surface of Drugs and Murders committed within the Township of Mount Airy, North Carolina and Surrounding Cities.

My Name is Gerald Ronald Cheek, The Private Investigator whom was hired by Washington DC Attorney Tony King and Charlottesville Va. Attorney Steven Rosenfield to search for and attempt to find the truth as to whether or not, Dennis Stockton Killed Kenny Ardner. It was an honor, to not only be hired by these two Stealth Attorneys, But to work this case gave me inner strength, I never knew could exist in oneself.

Dennis Stockton had an IQ of 160, with athletic skills to have played professional baseball.

Sincerely,
Gerald Ronald Cheek, G.R. Cheek Investigative Services, Inc.
Email: specialteegolf@northstate.net