Bill Pelke tells of the life-altering transformation that occurred after his 78-year-old grandmother was murdered by four teen-aged girls in his book, Journey of Hope…From Violence to Healing. Though at first he supported the death penalty for 15-year-old Paula Cooper, one of the young girls who had murdered his grandmother in her home for $10 and an old car, he later opposed her execution and successfully fought to have Cooper’s death sentence overturned. The book follows his personal journey over many years and features a forward by Sister Helen Prejean.

(Xlibris Corporation, September 2003). See Victims, Juvenile Death Penalty, and Books.