Messages of Life from Death Row - Paperback

by Pierre Pradervand (Author)

Death row inmate Roger McGowen has declared his innocence from the start. He undertook, alone, a long spiritual journey that led him from rage at the system and victimhood to compassion, forgiveness, freedom, and unconditional love, which he shares in his correspondence with writer and sociologist Pierre Pradervand. Messages of Life from Death Row shows the often deeply flawed functioning of the American criminal justice system and its arbitrary application of the death penalty. A unique juxtaposition of carefully selected texts next to the heartfelt and memorable letters written by McGowen from his cell on death row gives readers a historical, ethical, and pragmatic overview of American criminal justice, and reminds us yet again that an imperfect system which takes the lives of innocent men and women cannot continue to exist. Thousands around the world have already been deeply touched by the French and Dutch versions of the book.

Author Biography

Pierre Pradervand is the founding member of two international African NGOs. His work for social change has taken him to more than forty countries on five continents, including living many years in Africa. His personal development workshops are conducted in his home country of Switzerland, where he also writes and volunteers in such places as a prison in Geneva. Pradervand earned his doctorate in sociology and has published fifteen books in a dozen languages. The author's wife is founder and director of the Women's World Summit Foundation, and together they work to create a world free from the type of injustice so clearly described in this book.