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Austin Sarat

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Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America's Death Penalty 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

by Austin Sarat (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 65 ratings

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Gruesome Spectacles tells the sobering history of botched, mismanaged, and painful executions in the U.S. from 1890 to the present. Since the book's initial publication in 2014, the cruel and unusual executions of a number of people on death row, including Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma and Joseph Wood in Arizona, have made headlines and renewed vigorous debate surrounding the death penalty in America. Austin Sarat's book instantly became an essential resource for citizens, scholars, and lawmakers interested in capital punishment—even the Supreme Court, which cited the book in its recent opinion, Glossip v. Gross.

Now in paperback, the book includes a new preface outlining the latest twists and turns in the death penalty debate, including the recent galvanization of citizens and leaders alike as recent botched executions have unfolded in the press. Sarat argues that unlike in the past, today's botched executions seem less like inexplicable mishaps and more like the latest symptoms of a death penalty machinery in disarray. Gruesome Spectacles traces the historical evolution of methods of execution, from hanging or firing squad to electrocution to gas and lethal injection. Even though each of these technologies was developed to "perfect" state killing by decreasing the chance of a cruel death, an estimated three percent of all American executions went awry in one way or another. Sarat recounts the gripping and truly gruesome stories of some of these deaths—stories obscured by history and to some extent, the popular press.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sarat is mostly sucessful in navigating these dangerous waters of describing the gruesomeness of botched executions without making them just a spectacle or systematic failure of people or equipment. His success is a result of balancing accounts from a variety of sources, situating his work in the social sciences and legal studies." -- David Fazzino ― Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

"Austin Sarat's spellbinding book has captured the spirit of his agile mind. Gruesome Spectacles is provocatively written and sure to keep readers keenly interested in the captivating stories of many death row prisoners. This book will hook you from the first chapter and continue to fascinate you throughout its journey. A must-read." -- Charles Ogletree ― author of All Deliberate Speed and The Presumption of Guilt

"We have harnessed the power to annihilate life on earth. Yet we still can't seem to extinguish, quickly, painlessly, and reliability, a single human life. Gruesome Spectacles tells us why. With his bright, clear, and extra-ordinary prose, Austin Sarat raises many disturbing and profound questions―not only about botched executions―but about State authorized killings made on behalf of the American people. A gripping and provocative read." -- Richard Moran ― Mount Holyoke College

"America has no more incisive scholar of capital punishment than Austin Sarat, who always has something fresh to say. Gruesome Spectacles offers readers new and provocative insights." -- Scott Turow ― author of Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty

"Sarat's chronicle of how executions were bungled, mishandled, or failed is crucial to the evolution of the methods, and thus to the penalty itself . . . Sarat's comprehensive and even exhaustive effort provides a reference that all involved in criminal justice, and especially capital punishment, must take into account." -- Jon M. Sands and Dale A. Baich ― Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science and Technology

"Absolutely eloquently written." -- Ray Paternoster ― The Historian

About the Author

Austin Sarat is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. Sarat has written for numerous academic and trade publications, and his books include: When the State Kills (2001), Mercy on Trial (2005) and Re-imagining To Kill a Mockingbird (2013).

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00K2QLF1A
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stanford Law Books; 1st edition (April 30, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 30, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1525 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 290 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0804799458

Best Sellers Rank: #670,379 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #39 in Law Ethics & Professional Responsibility
- #107 in Penology (Kindle Store)
- #164 in Professional Responsibility & Law Ethics

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4.1 65 ratings

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Austin Sarat

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Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and

Political Science at Amherst College and is a pioneering figure in

legal study in the liberal arts. He is also a renowned scholar of

capital punishment, specializing in efforts to understand its

political, and cultural significance in the United States.

He is author or editor of more than ninety books.

Professor Sarat has received numerous prizes and awards. In May, 2008

Providence College awarded Prof. Sarat an honorary degree in

recognition of his pioneering work in the development of legal study

in the liberal arts and his distinguished scholarship on capital

punishment in the United States.

His public writing has appeared in such places as The New Republic,

The Guardian, The Boston Globe, Slate, The Los Angeles Times, The

American Prospect, Aljazeera America, US News, CNN, Politico, USA

Today, The Washington Post, The Hill, and The Daily Beast.

He has been a commentator or guest on HuffPost Live, Bloomberg Radio,

The Morning Briefing on Sirius Radio, National Public Radio, All

Things Considered, Morning Edition, ABC’s World News Tonight, and The

O'Reilly Factor.

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4.1 out of 5

65 global ratings

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Jeff

accessible, interesting, and timely

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2014

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This book raises some really important questions about the death penalty and its meaning in a civilized first world country. Sarat draws from historical cases and philosophical texts on power, justice, and sovereignty to problematize the moral and ethical conditions for the state killing its own. In presenting these cases, Sarat does a fair job of trying to remain objective and fair, though the questions he asks somewhat allude to his position--a position I personally agree with. This book is clearly written and accessible without compromising the complexity of the issues being addressed. A delightful read.

3 people found this helpful

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Thomas Griffor

It's a book - what's to review on Amazon?

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2021

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Good book; interesting reading. As far as Amazon goes, delivery was on time and book arrived in great condition.

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Chuhal

Overall, Not a Bad Read

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2014

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Although a bit dry in some instances, descriptions of botched executions and desperate prisoners literally fighting their captives to stave off their deaths were at once chilling and sobering. This text also did a fair job of detailing the miserable childhoods and legal troubles of those who succumbed. Reading about a prisoner's violent crimes and seeing his mugshot on TV or in the paper elicits little sympathy for the pains they suffered during their executions, but reading accounts of some of the condemneds' abuse (including one man who suffered such severe brain damage after shooting both a policeman and himself in their head, whereupon he suffered severe mental breakdown and could not have comprehended either why he was in jail or why he would be executed) was an low-power....to say the least.

5 people found this helpful

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Gerald Farber

Voyeuer in death

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2014

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No book can adequately express the horror of state sanctioned killing. This book tries but pictures are worth a 1000 words and for the squeamish there are none. What is here is a fascinating and scholarly approach to our barbaric customs and rituals.

The author explains that the rituals are of recent origin starting in the middle of the 19th Century. The middle class was first coming in to its own and sought to demonstrate a moral superiority over the lower classes by distinguishing themselves from the "common mob". To appeal to this set of voters Governments began experimenting with more "painless" methods of killing (none work). Other cosmetic touches including doing away with "public" executions, forbidding pictures or any other method of recording the barbarity and putting the killing behind prison walls were all designed to take the "heat off the official killers, and turn the scrutiny, not on the killing itself but rather on the process, the crime details and the imagined "retributive" benefits when an execution takes place.

As Mr. Sarat and his team of researchers show the State has a stake (pardon the expression) in these sanctified killings. Politicians fall over each other to show that they are "tough" on crime and criminals.But the key question that Sarat and his team wanted answered was whether an execution benefitted the penalty proponents or their opposition. Until we end state sanctioned killing the question wii remain unanswered.

7 people found this helpful

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Michael H.Friedman

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2016

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A gripping narrative borne out of meticulous research. Once I started this book, I could not put it down.

One person found this helpful

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Patsy Hardin