imparted his unique insight into the day-to-day life of inmates at San Quentin. But there was no experience more piercing than my interview with Marvin Pete Walker, now Shaka Nantambu, concerning his existence as a death row prisoner facing the prospect of execution.
I also benefited from the following reading:
Books and Treatises
Books
Ellis, James W. Mental Retardation and the Death Penalty: A Guide to State Legislative Issues. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico School of Law, 2002.
Lazarus, Edward. Closed Chambers: The First Eyewitness Account of the Epic Struggles Inside the Supreme Court. New York: Crown, 1998.
Liebman, James, et al. A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases, 1973?1995. 2000. The Justice Project. http://justice.policy.net/jreport.
———. A Broken System, Part II: Why There Is So Much Error in Capital Cases, and What Can Be Done About It. 2002. The Justice Project. http://justice.policy.net/jreport.
Rehnquist, William H. The Supreme Court. New York: Knopf, 2001.
Turow, Scott. Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003.
Articles
Bandes, Susan. 'Simple Murder: A comment on the legality of executing the innocent.' Buffalo Law Review 44 (1996): 501.
Blume, John, and David Voisin. 'An Introduction to Federal Habeas Corpus Practice and Procedure.' South Carolina Law Review 47 (1996): 271.
Bright, Stephen. 'Political Attacks on the Judiciary: Can justice be done amid efforts to intimidate and remove judges from office for unpopular decisions?' Judicature 80 (1997): 165.
———. 'Counsel for the Poor: The death sentence not for the worst crime but for the worst lawyer.' Yale Law Review 103 (1994): 1835.
Leno, Mark. 'The Ultimate Price: Is the death penalty California's best interest?' San Francisco Chronicle. January 28, 2003. p. A17.
Liebman, James S. 'The Overproduction of Death.' Columbia Law Review 100 (2000): 2030.
Reinhardt, Stephen. 'The Anatomy of an Execution: Fairness vs. Process.' New York Law Review 74 (1999): 313.
Schatz, Stephen F., and Nina Rivkind. 'The California Death Penalty Scheme: Requiem for Furman.' New York Law Review 72 (1997): 1283.
Talbot, Margaret. 'The Executioner's I.Q. Test.' The New York Times Magazine. June 29, 2003. p. 30.
Will, George F. 'Innocent on Death Row.' The Washington Post. April 6, 2000. p. A23.
Finally, I want to thank those who read and commented on the manuscript: Laurie Patterson, Fred Hill, Alison Porter Thomas, Cheryl Mills, and Philip Rotner; and my editors, Linda Marrow and Dan Menaker. And then there are the two publishers to whom this book is dedicated, who have steadfastly supported my belief that popular fiction can address controversial legal, political, and social issues: Gina Centrello, President and Publisher of the Random House Publishing Group, and Nancy Miller, Editor in Chief of Ballantine Books.
In concluding, I understand that writing about capital punishment will arouse a number of emotions in my readers, not all of them admiring. So, as always, I want to be very clear—those who helped me are not responsible for the narrative, or any of the often conflicting views expressed therein, let alone any errors of fact or interpretation. One person conceived and wrote this book; any fault is mine alone.
Thanks, as always, for bearing with me.
RICHARD NORTH PATTERSON
Martha's Vineyard
April 2004
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RICHARD NORTH PATTERSON's twelve prior novels include eight consecutive international bestsellers, all greeted by critical acclaim—for example, comparing his Protect and Defend with novels such as Allen Drury's Advise and Consent and Gore Vidal's Lincoln. Formerly a trial lawyer, Mr. Patterson served as the SEC's liaison to the Watergate Special Prosecutor and is now on the boards of several Washington-based advocacy groups dealing with gun violence, political reform, and reproductive rights. He lives on Martha's Vineyard.
ALSO BY RICHARD NORTH PATTERSON
Balance of Power
Protect and Defend
Dark Lady
No Safe Place
Silent Witness
The Final Judgment
Eyes of a Child
