PREFACE

In this book we recount the case history of all U.S. capital punishment cases in which condemned prisoners were executed in the United States during the years 2007 and 2008. The compilations are taken from and referenced to original court records. Other sources, when available and deemed reliable, are used to embellish the facts. Convictions based on circumstantial evidence tend to be more detailed than those based on confessions. The original names and places are retained. Each case history is written in a nonsensationalized way that is respectful of the victims, their families, and the families of the executed prisoners. The dignity of the killer is preserved without sacrificing the brutality of the crime.
Reading this book should prove to be as emotionally taxing as it was for us to write. The murders are truly horrible and described in graphic detail for it would be disingenuous both to the victims and the executed to do otherwise. Responsibility and guilt are assumed leaving the reader to decide whether justice has been served. This is neither a anti-death nor a pro-death penalty book—it is simply a candid retelling of uncivilized behavior in modern times. It is intended for both the scholar and those with an interest in the social issues that plague the United States.
An index is provided.