Within These Walls: Memoirs of a Death House Chaplain

By Carlton Stowers and Carroll Pickett

Book Overview

Former Texas prison chaplain Rev. Carroll Pickett, working with two time Edgar Award-winner andNew York Timesbest selling author Carlton Stowers, provides this eloquent, unflinching look at capital punishment. Within These Wallsis the powerful memoir of Rev. Pickett, who spent fifteen years as the death house chaplain at "The Walls," the Huntsville unit of the Texas prison system. In that capacity Rev. Pickett ministered to 95 men before they were put to death by lethal injection. They came with sinister nicknames like "The Candy Man" and "The Good Samaritan Killer," some contrite, some angry-a few who might even have been innocent. All of them found in Rev. Pickett their last chance for an unbiased confessor who would look at them only as fellow humans, not simply as the convicted criminals the rest of society had already dismissed them as. This first-hand experience gave Rev. Pickett the unique insight needed to write an impassioned statement on the realities of capital punishment in America. The result is a thought-provoking and compelling book that takes the reader inside the criminal mind, inside the execution chamber, and inside the heart of a remarkable man who shares his thoughts and observations not only about capital punishment, but about the dark world of prison society.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312287178
• ISBN13: 9780312287177
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.7" x 1.0" x 6.2"

Customer Reviews

Great Read

Whether you agree or disagree with the way the death penalty is played out in TX or the US in general this book is a great read. The author has "lived" all sides of the issue from having friends who where murdered to ministering to those who killed them. It's a very well-written and well-rounded look at the issues.

One of the best I've ever read--

I guess it's true you either love it or hate it as I can't imagine being ambivalent about this book. I first read the book only because I had met the author, Rev. Carroll Pickett. I found it to be very interesting & thought provoking. I have recommended it to numerous people. I have since had the great fortune to get to know Carroll & his wife, Jane. He is a truly remarkable man & I feel priviledged to know him & to have read his book. He is definitely a man of intergrity. I'm glad he shared his experiences with all of us!

You'll love it or hate it

No one escapes this book without being confronted with the tragic realities of the death penalty. Rev. Pickett does not fluff this story with hype but tells it as he lived it. This is not just a testament about the death penalty but is also about the meaning of life, death, family systems, ministry, and, in the end of the book, loving one's enemies. You can argue that Pickett is wrong about the death penalty perhaps but you cannot argue with the fact that he did his job with integrity and love. You'll love it or hate it but will not escape the power of Carroll Pickett's experience.

Very thought-provoking

If you had asked me 6 months ago how I felt about the death penalty, I would have said I was in favor of it. I still believe there are crimes which are so heinous that the death penalty should be used. However, I am troubled that there seems to be no uniform criteria which dictate when it is used. Also, I think we need to ask ourselves whether taking a life, to avenge a life, is truly the answer. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever been troubled with how violent crime is punished in America today.

The real cost of the death penalty

Carroll Pickett once supported the death penalty, and this book details a gradual transformation. Within These Walls gives readers a vivid look at the real cost of the death penalty; the impact it has on the people who must carry out society's ultimate punishment.Anyone who wants a more accurate picture of the reality of capital punishment will benefit from this moving account.