A Bit Of Heavy Reading

To kill or not to kill; that was the question that was always spinning around in my mind while reading two books with the death penalty as a central theme.  Before I talk about them, I want to note that I did not intentionally try to read two books that had such a heavy topic as a theme.  In fact, prior to reading these two books, I had little knowledge and little opinion concerning the death penalty, and really I was searching for some light reading.  Light reading was not what I found, and this had nothing to do with the difficulty of the material.  It was all due to the topic.

Change of Heart
by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult is a fictional author known for taking controversial, polarizing issues and inserting them into her books while complicating them with a legal trial of some sort.  I love her style because I like thinking about these topics and as a young adult, I am constantly trying to establish my opinions about these issues.  This particular novel  was about a man, Shay Bourne, who has allegedly committed a heinous crime, the murder of a young girl and her police officer stepfather. He is sitting in a prison cell, awaiting the consequence for his actions - the death penalty.  While in prison, though, he begins performing miracles that mimic those of Jesus.  He changes the water in the prison pipes to wine, cures another inmate of aids, brings a prison guard back to life.  To intensify matters even more, he has decided that he wants to donate his heart to a sick little girl who happens to be the daughter of the woman whose family he is on death row for murdering. 

This novel is certainly entertaining,  offering a myriad of characters, all with different experiences and perspectives.  There is a priest, who is compelled to help grant Shay his dying wish of donating his heart, especially since he is one of the jurors who sealed Shay's fate in the first place. Also, we meet an ACLU lawyer, staunchly against the death penalty, who has made it her number one priority to help Shay convince the world to let him be killed in a way to preserve his heart for the donation.  The reader is also introduced to perhaps the most real and easy-to-relate-to character of all- the mother and wife of the girl and man that Shay has murdered. While reading the novel, it becomes apparent that she is the real victim of the crimes committed, because she is the one living with the aftermath. 

Like a juror for Shay Bourne, I had solidified my opinions of Shay and his actions.  I was resigned to the fact that Shay was going to be put to death, thinking this was the only acceptable retribution for his crimes.  I wanted him to die for so many reasons- so that he couldn't hurt anyone else again, so that he would meet the same fate as his victims, for simple and satisfying revenge, so that his heart could begin to make amends for what he had done.  I thought I had it all figured it out.  Then, a huge twist in the story totally changed all of my opinions.  Suddenly, I had to reanalyze all of my thoughts and feelings regarding Shay Bourne.  Finally, I had to decide whether or not one man's willing life should be sacrificed for that of a child.

Recommended: Yes

Downside:  For me, the only qualm I had with this book is that there is a lot of religious material in which I was not that interested.  The book talks quite a bit about a set of lost gospels from the Bible.  I found this part a bit boring and hard to plow through.

In Cold Blood

a true crime novel by Truman Capote

In this true crime story, read like a novel, Truman Capote details the true, brutal murders of the Clutter family, a well-known, and well-liked family from a small-town.  The Clutter family was a family of four (well, actually six, but two older daughters had previously moved out of the house) that ran a farm in Holcomb, Kansas in 1958.  One night, after spending time together watching television, the Clutters tucked into bed.  During the night, two men, who had never met the Clutters, broke into the house for an unknown reason. After tying the family up in separate rooms and ransacking the house, the two men brutally murdered the four family members, one-by-one, leaving their bodies to be discovered by a young friend the next day.

The rest of the book follows the lives of the townspeople recovering from the shocking act of violence against one of their own, the murderers trying to evade the long arm of the law, and the authorities, working relentlessly and tirelessly to find the murderers who changed their lives and the lives of their neighbors forever.

Eventually, the killers are detained and are sentenced to death.  During the trial, graphic details of the murders were revealed, and something of a motive was discovered.  We learn that one of the murderers was tipped off to the Clutter family by a former farmhand of Mr. Clutter.  This man is the same man that eventually helped the police put a name and face to the elusive men who murdered the family.  One surprising detail uncovered was that one of the murderers was intent on raping the young girl of the Clutter family, but was stopped by the other murderer who found that act detestable.

One of the most lasting and compelling parts of the book is the perspective of the killers.  It is so strange to take a glimpse into the mind of a person who is capable of committing such atrocities.  It is surprising to see the acts of compassion and sympathy that come from those same people.  It is hard, after learning of those acts of compassion while also knowing the brutal acts of hatred, to decide whether more death is the answer or not.

Recommended: Yes

Downside:  After researching the events that led to and conspired in the case of the Clutter family, I came across some testimony from the surviving Clutter sisters.  They have claimed that some of Truman Capote's "facts" in his book are not actually accurate.  They have also asserted that Truman Capote promised them the opportunity to read his book first and give their stamp of approval, a privilege that was not granted.