Death Row: The Final Minutes
My life as an execution witness in America's most infamous prison
Published on 27. December 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-78870-149-5 (ISBN)
Description
IN 12 YEARS, MICHELLE LYONS WITNESSED NEARLY 300 EXECUTIONS.
As a reporter and then spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Michelle was a frequent visitor to Huntsville's Walls Unit, where she recorded the final moments of death row inmates' lives before they were put to death by the state.
Michelle witnessed some of the most notorious criminals, including serial killers, child murderers and rapists, speak their last words on earth, while a cocktail of lethal drugs surged through their veins.
Misgivings began to set in as the execution numbers mounted. She came to know and like some of the condemned people she saw die, and began to query the seemingly arbitrary nature of the death penalty. Do executions actually make victims of us all?
'Haunting, dark and hard to put down' Houston Chronicle
'A portrait of what it's like to be surrounded by death...
a memoir of perseverance in the face of routine tragedy'
The Daily Beast
As a reporter and then spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Michelle was a frequent visitor to Huntsville's Walls Unit, where she recorded the final moments of death row inmates' lives before they were put to death by the state.
Michelle witnessed some of the most notorious criminals, including serial killers, child murderers and rapists, speak their last words on earth, while a cocktail of lethal drugs surged through their veins.
Misgivings began to set in as the execution numbers mounted. She came to know and like some of the condemned people she saw die, and began to query the seemingly arbitrary nature of the death penalty. Do executions actually make victims of us all?
'Haunting, dark and hard to put down' Houston Chronicle
'A portrait of what it's like to be surrounded by death...
a memoir of perseverance in the face of routine tragedy'
The Daily Beast
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chichester
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bonnier Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 202 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
228 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78870-149-5 (9781788701495)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Michelle Lyons was a prison reporter before becoming a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. In both roles, she witnessed the executions of some of the most infamous inmates of Texas death row. In 12 years, she saw nearly 300 inmates die by lethal injection, and this is the story of how those executions took their toll. The thoughts of Larry Fitzgerald, Michelle's dear friend and former colleague, also form part of her compelling narrative.