Life After Death
By Damian Echols
Echols, Damien. Life After Death. New York: Blue Rider, 2012. Print. ISBN-13: 9780399160202
US $11.14 Paperback
Overview
Life after Death is an Autobiography written by Damien Wayne Echols, who was one of three teenagers tried and convicted of the brutal murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, on May 5, 1993. During the trial the three were accused of witchcraft and practicing satanic rituals on their victims.
Damien Echols, deemed the ringleader, was sentenced to death by lethal injection. The other two were given life sentences. Their cause was taken-up by several celebrities, most notably Johnny Depp, and Eddie Vedder, who believed them to be innocent and that they were convicted unjustly. DNA evidence failed to connect Echols or his co-defendants to the crime. After spending nearly two decades on death row, in 2011 Echols, along with the two others were released from prison after their attorneys and the judge handling the upcoming retrial agreed to a deal. Echols had began keeping journals shortly after he landed on death row in 1995. This is Echols story as told by him: from abuses by prison guards and wardens, to deplorable living conditions, Echols describes how his patience, spirituality, and perseverance kept him alive and sane throughout the ordeal, while maintaining his innocence.
Review
This book is a good read for anyone who is interested in learning more about Echols' story because it raises questions about the death penalty and our justice system. When the crime occured there weren't many who believed the three to be innocent. Only a few believed the trial was biased and unfair. Most saw Echols and the other two as being evil, based on their dark, threatening, long haired appearances.It outraged many that it seemed they showed little remorse or sympathy for the victims and their families during the trial. There are two sides to this story. The side that believes in their innocence that they were conviced simply because they were convenient targets, and the side that still is not convinced that they really are innocent and now they have been set free. It opens up a good discussion about the death penalty and our justice syatem and whether or not there are other innocent people on death row or in jail.