Before I start, I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer's program, and I am grateful to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This was an interesting collection of pieces written by incarcerated men on death row, bookended by two essays by the editor, one of which sets up the collection and the latter of which offers some context around how the death penalty actually functions in the United States, which was helpful. Each author gets a series of his own essays in a row, which I think was an interesting choice, rather than moving thematically or anything like that. Some of the essays are super brutal, as they depict traumatizing events or the impact of that trauma (including multiple suicide attempts,) and some have a kind of looser form.

I think this is a decent introduction to the humanity of incarcerated people, especially those on death row, as well as a breaking of some stereotypes of who exactly is condemned to death in this country and how that system works. There are some aspects I think that go under-analyzed in a larger context, and the editor, although passionately advocating for the end of the death penalty, doesn't do much to take it a step further and discuss decarceration--maybe she doesn't feel that way, but I think the essays make it obvious that death row or no, prison is not a place for people, and that what is routine in these situations is deeply inhumane.