Grace and Justice on Death Row : The Race Against Time and Texas to Free an Innocent Man

A Washington Post bestseller! A chilling and compassionate look at how close an innocent man was to being put death with a foreword by Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking. What is worse than having a client on Death Row in Texas? Having a client on Death Row in Texas who is innocent and not knowing if you will be able to stop his execution in time. Grace and Justice on Death Row: A Race Against Time to Free an Innocent Man tells the story of Alfred Dewayne Brown, a man who spent over twelve years in prison (ten of them on Texas' infamous Death Row) for a high-profile crime he did not commit, and his lawyer, Brian Stolarz, who dedicated his career and life to secure his freedom. The book chronicles Brown's extraordinary journey to freedom against very long odds, overcoming unscrupulous prosecutors, corrupt police, inadequate defense counsel, and a broken criminal justice system. The book examines how a lawyer-client relationship turned into one of brotherhood. Grace And Justice On Death Row also addresses many issues facing the criminal justice system and the death penalty – race, class, adequate defense counsel, and intellectual disability, and proposes reforms. Told from Stolarz's perspective, this raw, fast-paced look into what it took to save one man's life will leave you questioning the criminal justice system in this country. It is a story of injustice and redemption that must be told. Title Page......Page 2 Copyright......Page 3 Table of Contents......Page 4 Dedication......Page 7 Foreword......Page 8 Part I: Introduction......Page 10 Chapter 1: Brooklyn “BS Meter”......Page 11 Chapter 2: Against Scaliaism......Page 13 Part II: The Arrest......Page 19 Chapter 3: Two Senseless Murders......Page 20 Chapter 4: Manhunt......Page 25 Chapter 5: Family and Faith and Growth......Page 27 Chapter 6: Interrogations......Page 34 Chapter 7: “What y’all want me to say?”......Page 36 Chapter 8: Dewayne’s Alibi......Page 38 Chapter 9: “Doing Justice” at the DA’s Office......Page 40 Chapter 10: Pressuring the Witnesses......Page 45 Chapter 11: Indictment......Page 53 Part III: The Trial......Page 55 Chapter 12: Gideon Betrayed......Page 56 Chapter 13: The Defense Bar......Page 61 Chapter 14: Defense Fail......Page 65 Chapter 15: Prosecutorial Misconduct......Page 69 Chapter 16: Ericka’s Story......Page 73 Chapter 17: The Accomplice’s Story......Page 76 Chapter 18: Closing Arguments......Page 83 Chapter 19: The Verdict......Page 87 Chapter 20: Ratifying Injustice......Page 88 Chapter 21: In the Tradition of Dr. Death......Page 96 Chapter 22: The Four Issues......Page 101 Part IV: The Fight for Dewayne’s Life......Page 106 Chapter 23: In Praise of NOBs......Page 107 Chapter 24: Life-Changing Phone Call......Page 109 Chapter 25: The Appeal Process......Page 111 Chapter 26: The Writ......Page 113 Chapter 27: The Team......Page 115 Chapter 28: Meeting Dewayne......Page 117 Chapter 29: The Third Guy......Page 121 Chapter 30: Lost Letter......Page 124 Chapter 31: Protecting E.W.......Page 126 Chapter 32: Witnesses Recant......Page 128 Chapter 33: The Brief......Page 130 Chapter 34: Another Letter......Page 132 Chapter 35: Ghetto Comes Clean......Page 135 Chapter 36: Uncle Mo......Page 137 Chapter 37: The Problem of Elected Judges......Page 138 Chapter 38: The Trouble with NOBs......Page 142 Chapter 39: Death Row......Page 144 Chapter 40: Unringing the Bell......Page 147 Chapter 41: Code of the Streets......Page 149 Chapter 42: The Case Restated......Page 152 Chapter 43: Anthony Graves to the Rescue......Page 153 Chapter 44: “I Am Troy Davis”......Page 156 Chapter 45: Ericka’s True Story......Page 158 Chapter 46: The Affidavit......Page 161 Chapter 47: Leaving the NOBs......Page 163 Chapter 48: Walk On......Page 167 Part V: Justice, at Last......Page 172 Chapter 49: Convergence......Page 173 Chapter 50: The “Expert” Witness......Page 175 Chapter 51: The Conflicted Judge......Page 178 Chapter 52: Grace from a Garage......Page 180 Chapter 53: The Inadequate Counsel......Page 183 Chapter 54: Elected Judges Dither......Page 184 Chapter 55: Exoneration......Page 191 Chapter 56: A Prayer for Dewayne......Page 195 Chapter 57: Freedom......Page 197 Chapter 58: Oysters and a Road Trip......Page 199 Chapter 59: “Live your life. Live it.”......Page 202 Chapter 60: What Can Be Done?......Page 203 Chapter 61: Scalia Was Wrong......Page 209 Chapter 62: “It don’t come down to nothing except love in the end.”......Page 212 Acknowledgments......Page 213 Bibliography......Page 220 Index......Page 225 Photo Insert......Page 233 The chilling Washington Post bestseller of an innocent death row inmate—with a foreword by Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking. Grace and Justice on Death Row tells the story of Alfred Dewayne Brown, a man who spent over twelve years in prison (ten of them on Texas’ infamous Death Row) for a high-profile crime he did not commit, and his lawyer, Brian Stolarz, who dedicated his career and life to secure his liberty. The book chronicles Brown’s extraordinary journey to freedom against very long odds, overcoming unscrupulous prosecutors, corrupt police, inadequate defense counsel, and a broken criminal justice system. Grace and Justice on Death Row also addresses many issues facing the criminal justice system and capital punishment—race, class, adequate defense counsel, intellectual disability—and proposes reforms. “Grace and Justice on Death Row isn’t just about how our broken system almost broke another decent man. More than that, it’s a moving story of a unique brotherhood that’s formed when a corporate lawyer with his faith bitterly tested literally saves another man’s life.” —Craig Melvin, MSNBC news anchor and Today show national correspondent “Brian Stolarz’s nuanced account of how he proved the innocence of a man on Death Row provided crucial insight into the terrible injustices of the American death penalty process. But at its core, this is a tale of one man’s unwavering faith in another human being” —The Washington Post What is worse than having a client on Death Row in Texas? Having a client on Death Row in Texas who is innocent and not knowing if you will be able to stop his execution in time. Grace and Justice on Death Row: A Race Against Time to Free an Innocent Man tells the story of Alfred Dewayne Brown, a man who spent over twelve years in prison (ten of them on Texas infamous Death Row) for a high-profile crime he did not commit, and his lawyer, Brian Stolarz, who dedicated his career and life to secure his freedom. The book chronicles Brown s extraordinary journey to freedom against very long odds, overcoming unscrupulous prosecutors, corrupt police, inadequate defense counsel, and a broken criminal justice system. The book examines how a lawyer-client relationship turned into one of brotherhood. Grace And Justice On Death Row also addresses many issues facing the criminal justice system and the death penalty race, class, adequate defense counsel, and intellectual disability, and proposes reforms. Told from Stolarz s perspective, this raw, fast-paced look into what it took to save one man s life will leave you questioning the criminal justice system in this country. It is a story of injustice and redemption that must be told "What is worse than having a client on Death Row in Texas? Having a client on Death Row in Texas who is innocent and not knowing if you will be able to stop his execution in time. Grace and Justice on Death Row: A Race Against Time to Free an Innocent Man tells the story of Alfred Dewayne Brown, a man who spent over twelve years in prison (ten of them on Texas' infamous Death Row) for a high-profile crime he did not commit, and his lawyer, Brian Stolarz, who dedicated his career and life to secure his freedom. The book chronicles Brown's extraordinary journey to freedom against very long odds, overcoming unscrupulous prosecutors, corrupt police, inadequate defense counsel, and a broken criminal justice system. The book examines how a lawyer-client relationship turned into one of brotherhood." Book dust jacket A chilling and compassionate look at how close an innocent man was to being put death with a foreword by Sister Helen Prejean, author ofWhat is worse than having a client on Death Row in Texas? Having a client on Death Row in Texas who is innocent and not knowing if you will be able to stop his execution in time.__Grace and Justice on Death Row: A Race Against Time to Free an Innocent Man____Grace And Justice On Death Row__Told from Stolarz’s perspective, this raw, fast-paced look into what it took to save one man’s life will leave you questioning the criminal justice system in this country. It is a story of injustice and redemption that must be told.