Death House Desiderata: A Hunger for Justice, Unsated
The death penalty lives on in America, with some 1350 prisoners put to death since 1976, when the modern American death penalty was reborn. Most prisoners get a last meal of their choice, though that choice is constrained by cost and, often, the stock in the prison kitchen. Last meals can be thought...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2014-04-01
|
| Series: | Laws |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/3/2/208 |
| _version_ | 1828152528377741312 |
|---|---|
| author | Robert Johnson Alexa Marie Kelly Sarah Bousquet Susan Nagelson Carla Mavaddat |
| author_facet | Robert Johnson Alexa Marie Kelly Sarah Bousquet Susan Nagelson Carla Mavaddat |
| author_sort | Robert Johnson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The death penalty lives on in America, with some 1350 prisoners put to death since 1976, when the modern American death penalty was reborn. Most prisoners get a last meal of their choice, though that choice is constrained by cost and, often, the stock in the prison kitchen. Last meals can be thought of as brief moments of autonomy in a relentlessly dehumanizing execution process. They also entail a distinctive cruelty. At their lowest point, prisoners seek comfort food but are never comforted. This meal is no entre to a relationship, but instead a recipe for abandonment. Dignity is nowhere to be found on the death house menu. Yet hope lingers, even here; human beings, it seems, cannot live or die without hope. Justice, the most profound human hunger, goes unsated by design. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:11:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ed930d787304b66bfe30e8a504e9f73 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-471X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:11:31Z |
| publishDate | 2014-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Laws |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ed930d787304b66bfe30e8a504e9f732022-12-22T04:00:32ZengMDPI AGLaws2075-471X2014-04-013220821910.3390/laws3020208laws3020208Death House Desiderata: A Hunger for Justice, UnsatedRobert Johnson0Alexa Marie Kelly1Sarah Bousquet2Susan Nagelson3Carla Mavaddat4Department of Justice, Law and Criminology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20016, USADepartment of Justice, Law and Criminology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20016, USADepartment of Justice, Law and Criminology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20016, USANew England College, 98 Bridge St, Henniker, NH 03242, USAMcGill University, 845 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, CanadaThe death penalty lives on in America, with some 1350 prisoners put to death since 1976, when the modern American death penalty was reborn. Most prisoners get a last meal of their choice, though that choice is constrained by cost and, often, the stock in the prison kitchen. Last meals can be thought of as brief moments of autonomy in a relentlessly dehumanizing execution process. They also entail a distinctive cruelty. At their lowest point, prisoners seek comfort food but are never comforted. This meal is no entre to a relationship, but instead a recipe for abandonment. Dignity is nowhere to be found on the death house menu. Yet hope lingers, even here; human beings, it seems, cannot live or die without hope. Justice, the most profound human hunger, goes unsated by design.http://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/3/2/208last mealsdeath houseexecutionsphotography |
| spellingShingle | Robert Johnson Alexa Marie Kelly Sarah Bousquet Susan Nagelson Carla Mavaddat Death House Desiderata: A Hunger for Justice, Unsated Laws last meals death house executions photography |
| title | Death House Desiderata: A Hunger for Justice, Unsated |
| title_full | Death House Desiderata: A Hunger for Justice, Unsated |
| title_fullStr | Death House Desiderata: A Hunger for Justice, Unsated |
| title_full_unstemmed | Death House Desiderata: A Hunger for Justice, Unsated |
| title_short | Death House Desiderata: A Hunger for Justice, Unsated |
| title_sort | death house desiderata a hunger for justice unsated |
| topic | last meals death house executions photography |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/3/2/208 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robertjohnson deathhousedesiderataahungerforjusticeunsated AT alexamariekelly deathhousedesiderataahungerforjusticeunsated AT sarahbousquet deathhousedesiderataahungerforjusticeunsated AT susannagelson deathhousedesiderataahungerforjusticeunsated AT carlamavaddat deathhousedesiderataahungerforjusticeunsated |