Death Work: A Study of the Modern Execution Process

by Robert Johnson

This text is a frank look at the consequences of the death penalty in the United States. It takes the reader through the world of American executions, from the prisoners who spend years on death row to the prison staff who guard the condemned and the people who are executioners. Utilizing both ethnographic and quantitative research, this book creates a dramatic presentation of all sides of this controversial topic.

Genres: Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Anjanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I figured it would an objective study of capital punishment and the processes therein, and it is, to some degree. Yet, I found this book difficult to read because the author's anti-capital punishment bias was so evident, to the point of making the book's tone preachy and subjective. I realize that this work is the result of Johnson's thesis, which argues that the death penalty has no place in modern America, yet, his opinion consumes so much of the book, it's difficult to focus on the research part of this "study."

[Chelsea · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. There was too much opinion and subjectivity for me to continue reading. At the very beginning his logic seemed too faulty for me to take the rest of the book seriously. He questioned his own thesis ("civilized societies are less likely to execute criminals than are uncivilized ones," page 3) with a subjective qualifier; America considers itself "a highly civilized society."

You, Robert Johnson, may consider America a highly civilized society, but not everyone believes that same ideology. We as a people give over our most basic rights to the government. We willingly become sheep in a society that doesn't care for the individual. We, despite being a land of immigrants, refuse other immigrants into our country when seeking asylum. People who need our help are denied it. How does that a civilized nation make? One cannot base an entire book on the premise that America is a civilized society, because that is an entirely subjective argument that not everyone would agree with.

I do not understand how this is classified as a scholarly piece of work when the author's bias is evident in every page.