Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty or simply Ultimate Punishment is a series of autobiographical reflections regarding the death penalty. It is written by Scott Turow and marks his return to non-fiction for the first time since One L in 1977.
Turow bases his opinions on his experiences as a prosecutor and, in his post-prosecutorial years, working on behalf of death-row inmates, as well as his two years on Illinois's Commission on Capital Punishment, charged by the former Gov. George Ryan.
Turow presents both sides of the death penalty debate and seems himself to flip sides depending on the argument.
Turow's reflections include:
- Thoughts on victims' rights vs. community rights
- Whether execution is a deterrent
- The possible execution of an innocent person
- If not the death penalty, what to do with the worst offenders
He also visits a maximum security prison and meets multiple-murderer Henry Brison, who, Turow says, "most closely resembles... Hannibal Lecter".
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