A new book by law professor Kenneth Williams of South Texas College of Law, titled Most Deserving of Death? An Analysis of the Supreme Court’s Death Penalty Jurisprudence, examines whether the death penalty system really punishes the worst offenders, as intended by the Supreme Court's approval of state laws. The book looks at issues such as jury selection, ineffective assistance of counsel, innocence, and race, and how these issues reflect on who is sentenced to death. Prof. Williams concludes that that application of the death penalty is inconsistent and incoherent, partly because of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence, and this leads to a lack of public confidence in the system. Prof. Susan D. Rozelle, of the Stetson University College of Law, said of the book, “Williams shines light into the dark corners of the capital punishment debate by focusing on the procedural nightmare. He takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the system’s failures, showing starkly how bad lawyering, racial discrimination, and shoddy science, for example, can mean the difference between life and death.”
A new book published in electronic format, The Death Penalty Failed Experiment: From Gary Graham to Troy Davis in Context by Diann Rust-Tierney, examines the problem of arbitrariness in the death penalty since its reinstatement in 1976. Through an analysis of the cases of Gary Graham and Troy Davis, the author argues that race, wealth and geography play a more significant role in determining who faces capital punishment than the facts of the crime itself. Both defendants had significant claims of innocence; both were black defendants who were ultimately executed in the South; in both cases, the victim in the underlying murder was white. Graham was executed in Texas in 2000 and Davis was executed in Georgia in 2011. Rust-Tierney writes, “How do you administer the most severe punishment imaginable in a manner that is accurate, free from bias and demonstrably fair? Until we are all seen and treated as equal, we cannot afford to keep capital punishment.” Ms. Rust-Tierney is an attorney and Executive Director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. 
A new book, "The Inferno: A Southern Morality Tale," by Joseph Ingle, chronicles the compelling story of Philip Workman, who was executed in Tennessee in 2007. The author, a minister of the United Church of Christ who has spent decades working with those on death row, served as Mr. Workman's pastor and tells the story from his own viewpoint, as well as those of others familiar with the case. Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, called The Inferno "the most detailed, intimate and complete look at a death row prisoner that I have encountered." Workman's case gained attention because of serious doubts about his guilt. His conviction was based largely on the testimony of a single eyewitness, who later admitted he was not present at the scene of the crime. Sr. Prejean said, "This is a remarkable book . . . that will leave your soul transformed." The book will be released April 2 and is available for pre-order through Amazon.com.
A new book, “In this Timeless Time: Living and Dying on Death Row in America,” authors Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian explore the life of death row inmates in Texas and in other states. Jackson and Christian capture, through words and pictures, the daily experiences of inmates while also highlighting arbitrary judicial processes related to capital punishment. Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, said, “With absolute fairness and profound honesty, Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian carry us into the tragic world of a group of prisoners living on a Texas Death Row. Through unforgettable stories and photos, we come to feel the suffering, guilt, and confusion of these men, as well as their inextinguishable human dignity.” Bruce Jackson is James Agee Professor of American Culture and SUNY Distinguished Professor of English at SUNY Buffalo. Diane Christian is SUNY Distinguished Teacher Professor of English at SUNY Buffalo.
Raymond Bonner's new book, Anatomy of Injustice: A Murder Case Gone Wrong, is about to be published and was 
(Winner: Silver Medal in the U.S. History category in the Independent Publisher Book Awards). A new book by Professor John D. Bessler, titled Cruel and Unusual: The American Death Penalty and the Founders’ Eighth Amendment, challenges the conventional wisdom that the country's founders were avid death penalty supporters, and explores their various views on capital punishment. Prof. Bessler discusses how the indiscriminate use of executions gave way to a more enlightened approach that has been evolving ever since. He sheds new light on the Constitution’s “cruel and unusual punishments” clause by exploring the early influence of Cesare Beccaria’s essay, On Crimes and Punishments. Bessler examines the Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment case law and concludes that the death penalty may well be declared unconstitutional in time. Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, called the book, “A searing indictment of capital punishment, this pioneering history of the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause is destined to reframe America’s death penalty debate. As a definitive account of the Eighth Amendment’s origins and the Founding Fathers’ own ambivalent views on executions, it will forever change our perceptions of cruelty and penal reform in the founding era."