From the Inside Flap
Through words and pictures and with the force of over thirty years of fieldwork behind them, Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian explore life on Death Row in Texas and in other states, as well as the convoluted and arbitrary judicial processes that populate all Death Rows. In chronicling the lives and deaths of these prisoners, Jackson and Christian document the capriciousness of capital punishment and capture the day-to-day experiences of Death Row inmates in the official "nonperiod" between sentencing and death.
From the Back Cover
Through words and pictures and with the force of over thirty years of fieldwork behind them, Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian explore life on Death Row in Texas and in other states, as well as the convoluted and arbitrary judicial processes that populate all Death Rows. In chronicling the lives and deaths of these prisoners, Jackson and Christian document the capriciousness of capital punishment and capture the day-to-day experiences of Death Row inmates in the official "nonperiod" between sentencing and death.
Review
A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Social Science Title
In this comprehensive, well-crafted book . . . Jackson and Christian build upon the photographs and interviews from death row in Texas that yielded their 1979 book and documentary Death Row (DVD included). Here, photos and text reveal inmate life, discuss capital punishment, and share the fate of each man: execution, a commuted sentence, parole, or after more than two decades, an innocent verdict. . . . [T]he book raises important questions about the judicial system and the practice of capital punishment in our society.--Publishers Weekly
If opponents of the death penalty were to choose one book for their cause, this could well be it. . . . Jackson and Christian write in a direct, journalistic style, poignant and to the point. This book will appeal to those with a specific interest in criminal justice and the death penalty as well as curious casual readers.--Library Journal Starred Review
All readers concerned about the U.S. prison system and capital punishment will benefit from this important work.--ForeWord
An unflinching commentary on the judicial system and the fates of the men they met on the Row. . . . They made a body of work no one else could.--Prison Photography blog
Jackson and Christian's book gives some of those men a face. Therein lays its beauty.--The Rag Blog
A uniquely powerful contribution to the literature on prisons, criminal justice, and capital punishment in the United States. . . . Not to be missed.--Journal of Southern History
The book deals in emotion magnificently. . . . A moving piece of photojournalism and a fitting argument against the death penalty.--Texas Books In Review
In This Timeless Time is as close to perfection as a publisher can produce.--The Federal Lawyer
About the Author
Bruce Jackson is James Agee Professor of American Culture and SUNY Distinguished Professor of English at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is author of numerous books and films, including the book Pictures from a Drawer: Prison and the Art of Portraiture.
Diane Christian, a poet, scholar of religious literature, and recognized documentarian, is SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of English at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Jackson and Christian cowrote Death Row in addition to producing and directing the film of the same name.
