I found this book a very enlightening, multifaceted review of issues surrounding capital punishment. It is also pretty graphic, and some of the descriptions made me physically ill. They were germane to the topic and it wouldn't have been as effective without explaining the crimes that, according to the judicial system, deserved ultimate punishment.

A strangely insubstantial, wafer-thin book, as though any real sentiment the author might have possessed was washed down with a pressure hose. The death penalty isn't a topic I would consider to inspire apathy, and the author indeed indicates that he shares this opinion. I'm not all that clear on why, then, this text is so subdued. I'm not necessarily looking for a diatribe, and I certainly believe in the wisdom of acknowledging the nuances and facets of a debate like this. I also appreciate the candor involved in admitting that you share opinions with the opponents of your position. But this text doesn't really seem to acknowledge so much as flutter blithely from one contradictory position to the next as the wind takes it, all the while never concretely finding a foothold. Effectively, it's a glorified pros and cons list predicated almost entirely on the author's emotions with no legitimate reference to criminological research or consensus. I applaud giving reasoned take on an issue, but this book seems to mistake a complete lack of passion for making a thoughtful and pensive argument.

The points that Turow makes in support of either position are not especially substantial, and cannot carry the weight of the page length, even despite its brevity. If you're going to author such a short text, then you need to make those words count. Turow doesn't. Instead, he spends far more time fussing about the personal ideology and demeanor of a politician who appointed him to a committee to discuss the issue, and making half-baked references to two defendants he's represented in cases where capital punishment was on the table without really delving into the implications of his experiences with any conviction. Just weirdly flimsy, perfunctory, and impalpable.

As a last thought, this text is one that really could only have been written, and find any purchase in the US. This debate is almost entirely a uniquely American one; no other western liberal democratic state carries out capital punishment, or seems to struggle with this issue. This text is very much a product of the society in which it was written, which probably accounts for many of the problems I had with it.

Solid book by an accomplished, seasoned writer. Turow has the gift of being able to see events from more than one perspective. His account of his days on the capital punishment commission during Illinois' moratorium on the death penalty in the early 2000's is well-paced, nuanced, and balanced. Would make a very good complement to Helen Prejean's Dead Man Walking.

Previous to this book, I hadn't given the death penalty much thought. Now I know where I stand.

Thoughtful, fair, profound. Read this.

A quick overview of Turow's experience serving on the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment. At 164 pages it managed to be a quick yet thorough read, despite feeling redundant in places.

This was a pretty quick read-not a deep dive into the politics or morals associated with the larger debate. Instead it was a satisfying pragmatic walk through the moratorium in IL and one commission members approach. It was transparent and well written. There is no agenda to change minds but I did find a lot of my own feelings were in line with the author.

In Ultimate Punishment, Scott Turow presents his reflections on the Death Penalty in the United States. Turow’s vantage point was his position on the Commission into the Death Penalty formed by Governor Ryan in the wake of a series of miscarriages of justice in Illinois. Turow was also a lawyer with a prodigious talent as a best-selling novelist. Needless to say, this is a book that reads very well, which compensates for its concision.
tAs in all good plots, Turow works through the arguments for and against the Death Penalty without showing his hand until the very end. Ultimate Punishment is therefore a more balanced book on this subject than almost any other I have read and works as a useful primer for understanding the issues. Some might argue that Turow could have developed his thoughts further with more examples and judicial debate, but there are many other books that do that and Turow does not make any special claims to scholarship. Indeed, that his musings are based in Turow’s experiences on the commission add to their potency and the brevity of this book was quite enough to understand Turow’s dilemma. I found myself nodding in agreement with much of Turow’s conclusions; the death penalty corrupts the system and those who have to operate within it, and it ultimately it is a stain on the soul of America. If you want to know the basics of the Death Penalty in the US, this is a great place to start.

Very thought provoking and informative.

Turow was asked by the Governor of Illinois to participate in a commission to review and recommend reforms for capital punishment. I liked his self-label of being a death penalty agnostic and can probably apply it to myself. He addressed many facets of the capital punishment system including the investigation, eligibility, the prosecutions decision to seek the death penalty, the trial, and review of the sentencing.

At the end of the book I was no more certain about my stance on the death penalty until he revealed a profound truth about the real problem. "There will always be cases that cry out to me for ultimate punishment. That is not the true issue. The pivotal question instead is whether a system of justice can be constructed that reaches only the rare, right cases, without also occasionally condemning the innocent or the undeserving." I agree with capital punishment, what I don't agree with is its application in our court system.

If you wanted someone to shed light on the complexities and debate on capital punishment, read this.

I read this book a few years ago and it really stuck with me. I plan in reading it again. It was very attention-grabbing and the author does an amazing job fleshing our all sides of the opinions around the death penalty leading up to a very concise conclusion. It helped me put my own internal conflict around this topic into some order.