The Death of Punishment Quotes

“Death row groupies mystify me. These women spend their lives visiting the condemned religiously, writing them daily, falling in love with them, and marrying them if they can. For some women, perhaps, condemned killers have that special aura or sex appeal. Apparently it gratifies their sense of romance or martyrdom.”
― Robert Blecker, The Death of Punishment: Searching for Justice among the Worst of the Worst

“But he did refuse to answer one question on the MMPI. “And I told the guy I would leave this one particular question blank. When you answer ‘true’ it automatically pops up on the psychopathic deviance scale that you’re paranoid. You have to answer ‘true’ or ‘false.’ And the question is, ‘Someone is trying to kill me.’” I burst out laughing and felt thoroughly ashamed for losing sight of the seriousness of it all. But asking the condemned on death row whether someone is trying to kill him to prove him paranoid—too much.”
― Robert Blecker, The Death of Punishment: Searching for Justice among the Worst of the Worst