When I was in high school I would frequently go on book reading jags on a particular topic - well to some extent I still do. One of these involved reading about people who were either on death row, or imprisoned for life for heinous crimes. Although, I myself, have never committed any heinous crimes I seem to identify with those who have - or, at least with my imagined idea of them. So I read [Life Plus 99 Years] about Leopold and Loeb, and [The Birdman of Alcatraz], and books about how capital punishment doesn't deter crime - did you know that 90% of all murders are committed under the influence of alcohol? Well, the point of all this, for me, was the belief in the essential goodness of human beings and their capacity for redemption. And, while I'm sure this all had something to do with my own upbringing that left me in doubt of my own goodness and worth, still the essential goodness of human beings and their capacity for redemption is still right up there among the things I most deeply believe in.

[A Saint on Death Row] by Thomas Cahill is the story of Dominique Green who was charged and convicted of felony murder - meaning that a murder was committed in the course of a crime, and, under the statutes of Texas and some other states, all the participants in the felony (the robbery) are held equally guilty of the murder, even if they did had nothing to do with it. However, there were four young men involved, but only Dominique, the youngest of the four at 18, was charged with capital murder. The one white boy in the group was not charged with anything. The other two were able to plea bargain for lesser charges. Dominique was not only black, but also poor, and without family to support him. The book goes into his life prior to prison, which was extremely harsh, and the life he built in prison, through his own efforts and the support of others.

This is the first of this sort of book that I have read in a long time. There are some differences and similarities to the books I read earlier. The similarities are the belief in change and the opposition to the death penalty. The differences are that this book and the presentation of Dominique are less romanticized than many of those I read earlier. And, yet it presents a picture of a young man who made the most of a difficult life, supporting himself and his brothers as best he could, and then, in prison, was able to seek, accept, and return the friendship and support of others.

The picture of Dominique comes from his own letters, from interviews with people who knew him and his circumstances before his imprisonment, and from those who met him after he was imprisoned, including the author.

Much of the book is an indictment of the criminal justice system of Texas, in particular. The picture presented is one in which, at every stage of the process, justice and truth were not so important as wanting somebody to pay for the crime. Although provided with counsel, there was no attempt made to insure that the counsel was competent for the task, or even cared about being competent. It tells how his conviction was based on testimony by witnesses who received lesser sentences as a result, and how his sentence was influenced by a report by a psychologist that he was likely to murder again, but this was simply a belief the psychologist had about all Hispanics and African Americans. In addition, his defense allowed his psychotic mother to testify, without informing the jury of her condition. The appeals process is somewhat different from other states in that they are considered by a group of elected politicians - most ex-prosecutors - who typically campaign on a "tough on crime" platform. They turn down appeals that would not be turned down in other states. The book gives many additional details of all of this.

The evidence is pretty overwhelming that is Dominique had not been black and poor, that he would not have been sentenced to death, nor even convicted. This puts the arrest of Professor Gates, recently, in some perspective. In the debate over whether that was warranted or not - personally I think it was not - we shouldn't lose sight of the stakes of racism, not being just dignity, but even of life. Dominque was executed in 2004 after 12 years on death row. Those sentenced to death are nearly always poor, and very much disproportionately minorities. This is also true of the many more who are in jail. Whites are more likely to use drugs, but African Americans are more likely to go to jail for it. Once a person is in jail, we seem to feel it is ok to stop caring what happens to them. Prison rapes are mentioned in comedy routines, not as something which must be stopped.

Finally, the book reviews the numerous arguments against the death penalty itself - the finality (if new evidence comes to light), the financial cost (more expensive than life in prison), the end of any chance of changing their life (for someone who is guilty), the cruelty.

But mostly the book is about Dominique himself and the strength and dignity of his life.

I strongly recommend it. ( )