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Killing Time : one man's Race to Stop an Execution
Shortlisted for The CWA Gold Dagger for Non Fiction
David Dow is a leading death row attorney in Texas, where 99% of appeals are rejected.He knows his clients are guilty, but he defends them because he believes murder is wrong.
Henry Quaker is a quiet man, charged with murdering his childhood sweetheart and their two children. All the evidence is against him: he's mentally unstable, his gun is missing, his son's blood was found in his car, and he'd taken out life insurance on his family immediately before their murder. But as Dow painstakingly pieces the case together, he gradually becomes convinced that Quaker - whose execution is just weeks away - is actually innocent.
This is the real story of Death Row; of corrupt lawyers, judges who are hostile to the very idea of justice and executioners who rely on inmates for moral support.Killing Time is a modern classic; both a searing and haunting memoir, and a story that will have you holding your breath until the last page.
David Dow is a leading death row attorney in Texas, where 99% of appeals are rejected.He knows his clients are guilty, but he defends them because he believes murder is wrong.
Henry Quaker is a quiet man, charged with murdering his childhood sweetheart and their two children. All the evidence is against him: he's mentally unstable, his gun is missing, his son's blood was found in his car, and he'd taken out life insurance on his family immediately before their murder. But as Dow painstakingly pieces the case together, he gradually becomes convinced that Quaker - whose execution is just weeks away - is actually innocent.
This is the real story of Death Row; of corrupt lawyers, judges who are hostile to the very idea of justice and executioners who rely on inmates for moral support.Killing Time is a modern classic; both a searing and haunting memoir, and a story that will have you holding your breath until the last page.
273 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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116 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 7, 2017
Lived in Houston for four and a half years and generally enjoyed getting in touch with the feel of the place again through this book, but I was there as an expat from a country where we don't kill people for crimes. I have no doubt that Texas (and the US in general) is a place where particularly viIe and violent crimes occur, though there was always a strain of politeness in the air that seemed at odds with the poverty and lack of education that causes much of the trouble. I agreed with everything that the author had to say about the death penalty and sympathise with his reasons for opposing it. That said, I found the overall tone of the book a little self-congratulatory. Undoubtedly Mr. Dow is intelligent and he cares. He is even honest enough to say that he does not personally like some of those that he defends and that he does not do the work out of religious motivations. In fact his anecdote about the preacher who discouraged the condemned appealing their sentences was deftly told to undermine religious thought about the nature of punishment. By his own account, though, he seems to do a lot of heavy drinking and to keep grindingly long and irregular hours, which leads to some unintended conclusions on this reader's part about just how wise and saintly his child is (as he would have to be) to cope with his workaholic father. Of course, the emotional toll taken by the job has to be a big factor, as does the seemingly crazy system of appeals and legal procedure, but this book presents for me a very American take on life -- that the job is everything and that the man who puts work first and does it well is a hero so his family had just better fit in around it. It seems that the family dog and his wife have learned how to work around him a long time ago. The kid is still getting used to it. Once that was obvious, his thoughts about his nighttime dreams and his reflections on family life seemed rather ironic.
August 31, 2023
Probably closer to 3.5 stars. This was a fascinating book with some problems. Reading about the disgraceful way the various lawyers, judges etc. behave is shocking. I did not realise the US legal system was so morally bankrupt. I found some of the family stuff quite moving; it made a nice change from the heart-breaking death penalty stories (particularly the central case). I felt like I got to know the author a little bit.
The problems I had were that it seemed to jump around a lot, which at times was a little confusing. I could also have done without the detail of so many dreams.
Overall, I think this makes an important contribution to the issue of capital punishment. Perhaps if some pro-death penalty people were to read it, some things might change, but I suspect the most likely audience is those who already oppose it.
The problems I had were that it seemed to jump around a lot, which at times was a little confusing. I could also have done without the detail of so many dreams.
Overall, I think this makes an important contribution to the issue of capital punishment. Perhaps if some pro-death penalty people were to read it, some things might change, but I suspect the most likely audience is those who already oppose it.
August 12, 2011
Great book about a lawyers journey in USA to fight the American justice system to prove a mans innocence. Working with the innocence project David Dow deals with a few cases like this but this is the story of Henry Quaker on death row and believed to be innocent. Its interesting to read how the USA system do things differently to here in the UK and how if you have a rubbish lawyer then it doesn't matter if your innocent as they will convict you and stick you on death row, and if you still have the rubbish lawyer who makes mistakes at appeal, and you lose again because of the mistakes made by your lawyer, well thats your tough luck for having a rubbish lawyer. Its very eye opening to read and its sad that this happens in the USA. Def recoomend it.
February 14, 2015
I liked this book but I don't really know why. I have always been against the death penalty so found myself agreeing with almost everything David Dow has written, but it wasn't just that. Maybe it's a relentless approach to his highly controversial job as a death row lawyer. Maybe it's because he doesn't always win, but he always keeps trying.
"Some days murderers steal my spirit. Most of the time, though, it's judges."
"Some days murderers steal my spirit. Most of the time, though, it's judges."
May 29, 2016
Not sure about this book. The content was interesting but for someone who is exposed to the horrors of life in a daily basis, I wish he would have appreciated his family more.
But, maybe that is the whole point of the book, perhaps when you are exposed to such trauma all the time, maybe you are incapable of love and kindness.
Not bad for a weekend read, but looking forward to picking up something a bit fluffier for a change of pace.
Happy Reading,
Heidi xo
But, maybe that is the whole point of the book, perhaps when you are exposed to such trauma all the time, maybe you are incapable of love and kindness.
Not bad for a weekend read, but looking forward to picking up something a bit fluffier for a change of pace.
Happy Reading,
Heidi xo
July 13, 2014
This book is the same story as The Autobiography of an Execution. I didn't realize that when I bought it. But I recommend you read one of the two. It will change your perspective on capital punishment in America.
February 23, 2012
Brilliant story
June 12, 2012
great book, made me think, enjoyed the ending
July 15, 2021
I really liked the way this book was a mix of Dow’s cases as a death row lawyer and his personal life. There were no chapters, with the short sections simply divided by dots. The sections alternated between Dow’s home life and his cases, as well as his thoughts on both, they are short and easy to read.
The interspersing of his home life made the book less stark, there is light as well as dark, the family stuff (although occasionally repetitive) serves as a contrast to the dreary grind of his professional life. I came away believing that the work would destroy most people, making them cynical or despairing but I agree with Dow – it is important work.
I liked the honesty of the book too, Dow doesn’t always come off as likable but it is interesting reading none the less. Some of the details of the cases he wrote about left me agog with astonishment and anger at the lack of respect people have for each other and the total lack of justice in a system where lip-service is given to “innocent until proven guilty”, when the reality is the opposite is true, and cost-benefit analysis and politics over-ride compassion.
There seems to be no value placed on human life once a person has become an inmate and Dow’s efforts to save an innocent man highlights this. Some of the outcomes here are tragic but I don’t think the books slips into melodrama or an emphasis on pity. It is about the legal process and lawyers but Dow makes it clear that the executions are not about the lawyers but the victims of murders, their families and sometimes the killers themselves.
The interspersing of his home life made the book less stark, there is light as well as dark, the family stuff (although occasionally repetitive) serves as a contrast to the dreary grind of his professional life. I came away believing that the work would destroy most people, making them cynical or despairing but I agree with Dow – it is important work.
I liked the honesty of the book too, Dow doesn’t always come off as likable but it is interesting reading none the less. Some of the details of the cases he wrote about left me agog with astonishment and anger at the lack of respect people have for each other and the total lack of justice in a system where lip-service is given to “innocent until proven guilty”, when the reality is the opposite is true, and cost-benefit analysis and politics over-ride compassion.
There seems to be no value placed on human life once a person has become an inmate and Dow’s efforts to save an innocent man highlights this. Some of the outcomes here are tragic but I don’t think the books slips into melodrama or an emphasis on pity. It is about the legal process and lawyers but Dow makes it clear that the executions are not about the lawyers but the victims of murders, their families and sometimes the killers themselves.
January 22, 2024
I challenge anyone who supports the death penalty to read this book and retain that view.
Part procedural thriller, part crime, but all true.
I could not put it down.
The writing style took a little getting used to. That's the only negative thing I have to say about this book.
Part procedural thriller, part crime, but all true.
I could not put it down.
The writing style took a little getting used to. That's the only negative thing I have to say about this book.
April 25, 2024
'People who form firm opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded'
It takes a remarkable individual to represent those who have been condemned to death. Especially those who are innocent!
David R. Dow you are a remarkable individual and I admire you for all you do.
It takes a remarkable individual to represent those who have been condemned to death. Especially those who are innocent!
David R. Dow you are a remarkable individual and I admire you for all you do.
February 16, 2021
• memoirs of a death row lawyer in Texas
• shines light on the corrupt and uncaring legal system in the US who continue to execute humans with a drug which has been banned by veternarians
• harrowing as you would imagine
• two quotes sum this book up:
☆ "Of the 100 or more death row inmates I've represented, there are seven, I believe to be innocent. They get sentenced to death because they have incompetent or underpaid trial lawyers, and because human beings make mistakes. They get executed because my colleagues and I can't find a way to stop it."
☆ "If you knew at precisely what time on exactly what day you were going to die, and that date arrived, and the hour and minute came and went, and you were not dead, would you be able to enjoy each additional second of your life, or would you be filled with dreadful anticipation that would turn relief into torture?"
March 17, 2015
incredible read :-):-):-)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews