Lights, Camera, Execution!

Helen J. Knowles is associate professor of political science at the State University of New York at Oswego.Bruce Altschuler is professor emeritus at the State University of New York at Oswego.Jaclyn Schildkraut is associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York at Oswego.

• Chapter 1 – Murder in Coweta County: No Man is Above the LawChapter 2 – The Thin Blue Line: The Search for TruthChapter 3 – Dead Man Walking: Redemption for the GuiltyChapter 4 – The Life of David Gale: A Paradoxical ExecutionChapter 5 – A Lesson Before Dying: A Dignified Date with DeathChapter 6 – The Green Mile: An Extraordinary Look into Death RowChapter 7 – The Chamber: “Take A Deep Breath”Chapter 8 – Last Dance: A Tango Between Life and Death Chapter 9 – Monster’s Ball: Understanding the Broader Impact

Lights, Camera, Execution! is an innovative and creative resource for those interested in better understanding the complexities surrounding society’s desire for vengeance and capital punishment. The authors, Knowles, Altschuler, and Schildkraut, pen an outstanding summary and assessment of historical and contemporary times related to the death penalty. Using filmmaking, the authors effectively persuade the reader that capital punishment in America should not be viewed as isolated to specific crimes or defendants.... Lights, Camera, Execution! cites all of the contemporary legal scholars researching capital punishment, most notably Austin Sarat. Like Sarat, Knowles, Altschuler, and Schildkraut provide context to the discussion on capital punishment in the United States. They use film to show the racial, class-based, moral, and democratic ideals that impact the historical and contemporary debates. While the death penalty remains a controversial issue and one oftentimes used in classes to spark conversation, it is a complex issue that legal scholars and Hollywood will continue to consider, if only to better understand notions of retribution and vengeance.