In This Timeless Time: Living and Dying on Death Row in America is a 2012 book by Bruce Jackson and Diana Christian, published by the University of North Carolina Press. [1]
In This Timeless Time: Living and Dying on Death Row in America is a 2012 book by Bruce Jackson and Diana Christian, published by the University of North Carolina Press. [1]
The authors are married to one another and Helicher had previously studied prisons for around 40 years. [2] They did not have formal work experience in criminology and history-related jobs. [3]
The title "timeless time" refers to a saying of how staying on death row feels like, as the prisoners are not aware of their ultimate fate. [2]
The authors previously created the documentary film Death Row. [1]
The initial section is a memorial to executed prisoners, reflecting the authors' philosophy opposing the death penalty. [3]
The book has three sections. The first includes photographs of condemned inmates, [4] in the Ellis Unit in Walker County, Texas in 1979. [5] Those inmates had been put to death. [2] Alan G. Pike of Emory University wrote that the death row living situation is "monotonous and oppressive". [5] The book has a total of 113 black-and-white photographs, [4] all in duotone, [1] and twelve inmates were depicted. [2] The photographs make up most of the work. [1]
The second, "Words", discusses the legal processes, [2] the outcomes, [5] and daily lives of death row inmates. [2] This section serves as the captions to the images of the first. [5]
The third, "Working", discusses the processes the authors used to get their research material, [5] and ethics-based arguments regarding the death penalty. [2]
The book includes a DVD containing a 1979 documentary, [2] Death Row , including interviews of Ellis Unit capital punishment prisoners, made by the authors. Pike called it "exceptional". [5]
Frances Sandiford, a former librarian of the Green Haven Correctional Facility, wrote that the book was in a "direct, journalistic style, poignant and to the point." [6] She indicated a highly positive review with a star symbol. [4]
Pike wrote that the book is "a uniquely powerful contribution" to the subject and that it has "compelling" components. [5]
Karl Helicher of ForeWord wrote that the book "would benefit" persons interested in the American death penalty and the associated penal system. [2]
Alex Tepperman, a PhD student in history at the University of Florida, concluded that the book "is a moving piece of photojournalism and a fitting argument against the death penalty". [3] Tepperman believed the first part was the best but felt the second and third were not as good. [3]
Publishers Weekly wrote that the book was "comprehensive" and "well-crafted". [1] PW stated that overall the book "raises important questions" about the death penalty and the legal system; the review criticized how there are multiple photographs of different angles of the same events and general repetition at times. [1]
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