Though partisans often reiterate old talking points in death penalty debates, Charles Lane in Stay of Execution shows repeatedly why there is so much more to learn and say about the modern administration of capital punishment in the United States. Though I have spent much of the last two decades studying and writing about the death penalty, I learned new information and gained new insights from every chapter of Stay of Execution. This book is a must-read not only for students of the death penalty, but for any and everyone concerned about the modern intersection of politics, policy and punishment.