When the people of California
overwhelmingly voted for the 1994 "three
strikes" law, many had no idea what they
were approving. The official ballot
argument in favor of what Newsweek called
"the toughest law in the nation" kept it
simple: "Three strikes keeps career
criminals who rape women, molest children
and commit murder behind bars where they
belong." What few people realized,
however, was that the sweeping nature of
the law would put thousands of nonviolent
men and women in prison for twenty-five
years to life, for crimes as minor as
shoplifting $2.69 worth of AA batteries,
forging a check for $94.94, or attempting
to buy a macadamia nut disguised as a $5
rock of cocaine. In his riveting,
well-documented book, Joe Domanick reveals
the drama of the shattered lives involved
with the law. Focusing on personal
stories, Cruel Justice expands to tell the
larger tale of how the law came into
existence; how it has played out; what
political, social, and economic forces lie
behind it; and how the politics of crime
and fear work in America. Domanick
demonstrates how laws passed in haste,
without deliberation, and in reaction to
public hysteria can have unforeseen
consequences as tragic as those they were
designed to thwart. Domanick draws
powerful portraits of the two innocent
young girls-Kimber Reynolds and Polly
Klaas-whose murders were the catalyst for
the three strikes law; of the men who
killed them; of the fathers who sought
their revenge; and especially of the many
people serving lengthy prison terms who
are victims of the three strikes law
itself.
What's it like to have the legal
sanction to shoot and kill? This
compelling and often startling book
answers this, and many other questions
about the oft-times violent world
inhabited by our nation's police officers.
Written by a cop-turned university
professor who interviewed scores of
officers who have shot people in the
course of their duties, Into the Kill Zone
presents firsthand accounts of the role
that deadly force plays in American police
work. This brilliantly written book tells
how novice officers are trained to think
about and use the power they have over
life and death, explains how cops live
with the awesome responsibility that comes
from the barrels of their guns, reports
how officers often hold their fire when
they clearly could have shot, presents
hair-raising accounts of what it's like to
be involved in shoot-outs, and details how
shooting someone affects officers who pull
the trigger. From academy training to
post-shooting reactions, this book tells
the compelling story of the role that
extreme violence plays in the lives of
America's cops.
Ultimate
Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on
Dealing with the Death
Penalty
Dr. Dolhenty says...
"I have been a fan of Scott Turow's
fiction for a number of years. So, when I
was asked to read and review his latest
work, a nonfiction book dealing with one
of the most controversial topics in
America today, that of capital punishment,
I eagerly anticipated the opportunity to
find out what this bestselling
author-lawyer had to say on the subject. I
was not disappointed. Turow's very short
treatise on the "ultimate punishment"
(only about 120 pages of actual
discussion) immediately brings the
controversy into focus and lays out the
arguments on both sides of the issue."
Read the rest of Dr. Dolhenty's review
of this book by clicking HERE.
Actual
Innocence: Five Days to Execution, and
Other Dispatches from the Wrongly
Convicted
Although they're best known for their
part in O.J. Simpson's "Dream Team"
defense, Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld
have also played a leading role in the use
of DNA testing to overturn wrongful
convictions. Actual Innocence tells
the stories of 10 of the men they've
helped set free.
A Place
Called Waco: A Survivor's
Story
When he first met the man who called
himself David Koresh, David Thibodeau --
who had never been religious in the
slightest -- was drumming for a rock band
that was going nowhere fast. Intrigued,
and frustrated by his stalled music
career, Thibodeau gradually became a
follower and moved to the Branch Davidian
compound in Waco, Texas. He remained there
until April 19, 1993, when the compound
was stormed and burnt to the ground.
Thibodeau was one of the nine who survived
the attack.
