Life After Death
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4.4 • 424 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
The New York Times bestselling memoir by Damien Echols of the West Memphis Three, who was falsely convicted of three murders and spent nearly eighteen years on Death Row.
In 1993, teenagers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, Jr.—who have come to be known as the West Memphis Three—were arrested for the murders of three eight-year-old boys in Arkansas. The ensuing trial was marked by tampered evidence, false testimony, and public hysteria. Baldwin and Misskelley were sentenced to life in prison; while eighteen-year-old Echols, deemed the “ringleader,” was sentenced to death. Over the next two decades, the WM3 became known worldwide as a symbol of wrongful conviction and imprisonment, with thousands of supporters and many notable celebrities who called for a new trial. In a shocking turn of events, all three men were released in August 2011.
Now Echols shares his story in full—from abuse by prison guards and wardens, to portraits of fellow inmates and deplorable living conditions, to the incredible reserves of patience, spirituality, and perseverance that kept him alive and sane while incarcerated for nearly two decades. In these pages, Echols reveals himself a brilliant writer, infusing his narrative with tragedy and irony in equal measure: he describes the terrors he experienced every day and his outrage toward the American justice system, and offers a firsthand account of living on Death Row in heartbreaking, agonizing detail. Life After Death is destined to be a riveting, explosive classic of prison literature.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wrongly convicted at 18 along with two other teenagers and sentenced to death for the 1993 murder of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Ark., Echols spent nearly two decades in prison before being released in August 2011. In this searing, finely wrought memoir, Echols recalls his poverty-stricken childhood, the trial of the West Memphis 3, and the harsh realities of life on death row. Sent there in 1994, Echols journaled consistently, though many notebooks were destroyed by guards. Echols describes death row as the equivalent of solitary confinement, his only human contact the infrequently allowed visitors from the outside world. Even sunlight and fresh air were denied at Varner Super Max, the facility he was transferred to in 2003. Echols recalls his less than ideal home life, with a mother who cultivated drama and a stepfather he despised (the feeling seems to have been mutual). The most affecting sections are Echols's philosophical musings on all he has lost, his thoughts often influenced by Zen Buddhism. In one journal entry that survived the guards' purge, Echols contemplates what he misses the most while in prison. The answer is a heart-wrenching and simple commentary on American prison life: "In the end it's not the fruit I miss most... I miss being treated like a human being."
Customer Reviews
Devoured this book
I used to live in Memphis in the mid to late 90's up to 2002 so I remember hearing the name "West Memphis 3" etc but until I happened upon this book at a book store I had no idea what a travesty of justice these three boys endured. I read this book in 2 days. How he maintained his humanity in the face of the brutality and inhumanity of the penal system is literally beyond me. I would have died. Mind boggling story. I used to teach American history and I cannot believe this happened in this country.
Wow!!
God Bless these guys! So disappointed in our legal system. I appreciate this book and all the for more information notes at the end. I won’t be able to sleep peacefully until I get involved with an organization that helps the wrongfully accused.
Haunting
I devoured this book in a single day. I couldn't put it down. His story is fascinating. What's even more fascinating is the way he describes things and his writing level. His ability to make me live his life through his words is invigorating and sucked the life out of me all at the same time.