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October 2011: "Autobiography of an Execution" discussion
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it feels a bit odd to say i enjoyed reading about the death penalty, but i did enjoy reading this book. as Jill noted, i had a view on the death penalty going into this book and it did not change. i appreciated more the opportunity to look at the life of someone who practices a kind of law that i do not think i could do.
Alright, I just picked up this one (and Columbine, but I'll read this first). Soon I'll have discussions to discuss I'm sure.
One thing I noticed in a LOT of reviews is that people do a whole lot of complaining about how Dow changed some identifying details to maintain privilege and confidentiality. They seem to be suggesting that since he admits upfront that he isn't giving real names or identifying details, that he isn't telling the truth. At first, I had assumed that it was because the reviewers are lay people (i.e., non-lawyers) but Dahlia Lithwick's NYT review also brought it up as a negative, and she should know better. I haven't gotten far enough into it to have an answer yet, but do you all think Dow was hiding behind privilege and confidentiality to invent parts of the story or otherwise attempt to influence his readers?
That's what I was thinking too. So then, why do all these reviewers have a problem with it? It bothers me a hell of a lot less than people who write "memoirs" that they make up entirely. At least Dow's upfront about it and isn't pretending that there's a real person named Henry Quaker.
Totally agreed. I also had the thought while reading "Shit, he drinks a lot." Which was immediately followed by "Well, I would too."
I wondered if perhaps the title led to some of the less-than-happy reviews? If it had been titled "Autobiography of a Lawyer Who Works with Clients Who a State Will Eventually Kill," well, it might not have stirred as much interest, but that might have also precluded a few of the issues with obscuring certain facts because of privilege/confidentiality issues. I didn't read this book expecting factual details of an execution from crime to arraignment to trial to appeal to death. I read it expecting the memoir of an attorney's experience with that process.
Jenn, I completely agree. It's much more about how Dow deals with both the insane pressure when a person's life is on the line and the knowledge that he most likely can't help save a life. How the job affects everything, from his sleep to his relationships in his family. Even "Autobiography of a Death Penalty Lawyer" might have made more sense... it's not really about the "Execution" part at all, other than the execution looming over everything.
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There's a lot of that going around.