In this timeless time : living and dying on death row in America /

In this comprehensive, well-crafted book, published in association with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, SUNY-Buffalo professors 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. Organized into three sections ("Pictures," "Words," "Working"), 113 duotone photos form the bulk of the book: Jackson's original black-and-white images from the 1970s show mealtime, exercise rituals, and inmates socializing in the dayroom and passing time in their cells, with detailed captions about the procedures and inmates' lives. The images speak to the boredom and sameness marking death row, though they lack the punch of Danny Lyon's seminal photographs documenting the Texas prison system in the early 1970s. However, striking moments, such as subsection "Hands and Mirrors," reveal the prisoners' loneliness to palpable effect. While the repetition of images from the same scene, or single subjects shown from different angles, diminish the overall impact, the book raises important questions about the judicial system and the practice of capital punishment in our society. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

If opponents of the death penalty were to choose one book for their cause, this could well be it. Jackson (American culture & English, SUNY at Buffalo; The Story Is True: The Art and Meaning of Telling Stories) and poet and documentarian Christian (English, SUNY at Buffalo; Wide-Ons) here cover all the arguments against the death penalty using both words and pictures. The book begins with 113 duotone photographs of inmates on death row in Texas. The men pictured are likely to remind readers of "boys next door" until they see the captions: commuted, paroled, executed. A second section, "Words," talks about the inmates' daily lives and offers commentary on the judicial system that put them on death row. A final section, "Working," addresses the ethics of capital punishment. Included in one of the appendixes is Justice Thurgood Marshall's dissent on the 1976 Supreme Court decision Gregg v. Georgia, which reinstated the death penalty after a four-year hiatus. VERDICT 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.-Frances Sandiford, formerly with Green Haven Correctional Facility Lib., Stormville, NY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.