Dead Run: The shocking story of Dennis Stockton and Life on Death Row in America
Life on death row is not easy. It is tough mentally as well as physically. I never been there nor have I ever known someone there, but it is obvious that life on death row is no walk in the park to say the least. Joe Jackson and William Burke in Dead Run retell the stories of Dennis Stockton's diaries written while on death row. Stockton was a prisoner awaiting his death sentence on death row at the Mecklenberg prison in Virginia. The main objective of this book is to give the reader an inside look at prison, specifically death row. Dennis Stockton gives this look from first hand experiences. Jackson and Burke's (1999) purpose in writing this book was to show how that the people on death row are, despite what they have done to be placed there, still people. Jackson and Burke accomplish their goal by humanizing death row for the reader. This book is told through the perspective of one inmate, a career criminal, Dennis Stockton. Dead Run is about the time spent by Stockton on death row, and his fight for a retrial. Stockton received his death sentence in 1983 and was sent to Mecklenberg, a supposedly escape-proof prison. From the day Stockton was convicted he maintained his innocence. The book begins with his transfer
Throughout the book you can gather pieces of Stockton's troublesome life. He was born in rural North Carolina in 1940. His family was very poor, and had many issues amongst themselves. From early on Dennis Stockton it was up to himself to make his life better. Stockton found some refuge in baseball. He was very proud of his days as a "fine left-handed baseball pitcher" (Jackson and Burke, 1999, pg. 282). He also liked to talk about how he was once scouted by the New York Yankees. Despite having baseball as a way out of trouble Stockton was still an angry, and self-destructive teenager. He got himself on the wrong side of the law early on in his life, and spent most of his life in jail. The last fifteen pages of the book are some of the most intense reading I have ever experienced. These pages go into detail the last day of Dennis Stockton's life. It goes through his day of saying good-byes, talking about anything and everything, but a lot of baseball. Stockton talked with other inmates almost like normal but at times an awkward silence would arrive. At which point it was evident that there were so many emotions flying around. Stockton talked to his lawyers, who tell him about their latest plea to the Supreme Court. They are eagerly awaiting a decision when the phone finally rings. Stockton's lawyer takes the call, and just from his body language and tone of his voice Stockton knows the decision (Jackson and Burke, 1999). Stockton's time has finally expired, as it is time for him to pay for the crime he still maintains he's innocent of. But there has been no last minute stay for Stockton. The reader is taken through Stockton's final minutes as he w! This book contributes nicely to the field of corrections. It does this by giving a perspective not normally seen. That of a prisoner on death row. Since Jackson and Burke did most of the book through the diaries of Stockton the book has a tr
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Approximate Word count = 1298
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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