Victims of Crime and Punishment
Interviews with Victims, Convicts, Their Families, and Support Groups
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About the Book
“Joseph Brown confessed to a burglary he committed with an accomplice, who got even by accusing Brown of a murder. Brown was convicted and sentenced to die, although the accomplice failed a polygraph test and admitted he lied. Brown, who came within hours of execution, was released after 13 years on death row”—from a chapter on a victim of punishment.
“It was a pretty rough time and we prayed that Yusuf would be found alive. Eighteen days after he disappeared, they found his body in an abandoned school…. After the funeral I was still in shock and not wanting to believe that my Yusuf would never again put his arms around my neck”—from a mother’s story about her murdered son.
This thought-provoking collection of interviews provides an insight into the multifaceted issue of victims. Topics include personal accounts, support and survival, and voices for reform. Also discussed are organizations that provide assistance to victims.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Shirley Dicks
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 174
Bibliographic Info:
Copyright Date: 2012 [1991]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6945-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9198-8
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
I. Victims of Crime
Personal Accounts
Debbie C. Darbois-Lowe, Daughter of Murder Victim 3
Trevor Dicks, Mugging Victim 10
Camille Bell, Mother of Murdered Child 14
Pat Bare, Relative of Murder Victim 18
M. Kerry Kennedy, Daughter of Robert Kennedy 21
Coretta Scott King, Widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. 22
Annie, Sexually Abused Child 23
Support and Survival
Parents of Murdered Children 27
National Organization for Victim Assistance 30
Victim Service Agency 33
Hope for Bereaved Parents 37
The Compassionate Friends 41
Mennonite Central Committee 43
Women’s Self Help Center 46
National Victim Center 48
Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund 52
Help Our Children Exist 54
Victims for Victims 55
Victims Outreach 59
Project Hope 61
National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women 63
On Dealing with a Violent Death 65
Surviving When Someone You Love Was Murdered 66
II. Victims of Punishment
Personal Accounts
Shirley Dicks, Mother of Death Row Inmate 75
Wrongful Convictions 87
Zel Morris, Wife of Death Row Inmate 94
Sarah Easley, Mother of Executed Son 99
To Those Who Murdered Jimmy Wingo 104
Benjamin Alers, Vietnam Veteran Convicted of Murder 108
Shabaka Waglini, Victim of 14 Years on Death Row 110
Marie Deans, Death Penalty Legal Defense Coordinator 114
Maria Dicks, Daughter of Death Row Inmate 118
Anthony Guest, Death Row Inmate 120
James Earl Ray, Victim of Society 122
Support and Voices for Reform
People Against the Death Penalty 141
Southern Prisoners’ Defense Committee 144
Reconciliation Ministries 147
Death Penalty Resistance Project 149
Tennessee’s Death Row 151
Amnesty International 155
Mothers Opposed to Maltreatment of Service Members 158
The Death Penalty as a Human Rights Issue 160
Book Reviews & Awards
• “Victims of crime and punishment relate their stories of pain, anger and fear…included is information about organizations that provide support”—Criminal Justice Abstracts
• “Useful…powerful”—Victim Support