Vollum 978-1-59332-264-9


	Edited by Marilyn McShane and Frank P. Williams III

		Last Words and the Death Penalty: Voices of the Condemned and their Co-Victims
		Scott Vollum

			Vollum analyzes the content of the last statements of the condemned and statements made by co-victims; he seek to "give voice" to these two different groups. Vollum finds that the most dominant themes among the condemned center around transformation, redemption, and positive messages of connection to others. The most dominant themes of co-victims are more conflicting with a mix of frustration with the death penalty process, relief that it is over, and the desire for justice or revenge. Through their own words, we learn that the death penalty is neither a soothing salve for the pain and suffering of co-victims nor simply an extraction of evil and irredeemable criminals.

		Scott Vollum is an Assistant Professor of Justice Studies at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He teaches and researches in the areas of violence, death penalty, criminological theory, restorative justice, and research methods and has published his work in a variety of scholarly journals. He is also co-author of the book The Death Penalty: Constitutional Issues, Commentaries and Case Briefs.

		x, 304 pages. Index, bibliography. ISBN 978-1-59332-264-9 (casebound) $75. Published 2007.