Thank you Melville publishing for an ARC of Death Row Welcomes you! I enjoyed this so much because of the sheer objectivity of author Steven Hale. This is unbiased, non-fiction storytelling at its finest. Nearly all of us feel one way or the other about the death penalty, Hale included — but he managed not to make this the focal point of his book.

This title is unique in that it not only follows death row inmates but their visitors as well. It’s not often we get these perspectives, and they are so so so important. If you’re not convinced, read this book.

The book could probably be shorter, but I never felt bored reading it. Highly recommended; it is one that will help you examine your own thoughts, biases, and abilities to be both empathetic and sympathetic.

I am whelmed. This book whelmed me.

Death Row Welcomes You by Steven Hale is the story of people who visit death row inmates and the inmates themselves. The death row in question is in Tennessee where Hale finds this unique group of people who meet with inmates and become long term friends. Many chapters contain the story of an inmate, his crimes, and, most importantly according to Hale and the other visitors, who the condemned man is now.

I think it's important to know what this book is not trying to be. It is not a polemic against the death penalty. Hale is absolutely opposed to the ultimate punishment and does not see the utility of it, but this is not a book whose sole focus is converting non-believers. I tried to put myself in the shoes of an ardent death penalty supporter and I don't know that this book would sway me at all. I don't think Hale is trying to convert them, though. I think he is aiming for the middle.

Hale wants people undecided (or just not paying attention) to read about men who seem to have changed. Hale does not shy away from the crimes, either. Each man's sins are laid out for the reader and more often than not, the inmate has confessed to the stated crimes. Hale himself even admits that if he were the father of one victim, he would want to seek vengeance. Importantly, Hale never faults the victim's families regardless of whether they agree with his worldview.

As a short aside, this book has the most abrupt ending of any book I have read. It was like the ending of the Sopranos where I wondered if I somehow didn't download the whole book to my kindle. (Note: I read an advanced copy so there may be some additions before publication.)

I started this review by saying I was whelmed. It sounds like a bad thing, but it's not. This book is well-written, it kept my interest, and I think it achieved its purpose of creating awareness even if it may not change many minds. However, Hale had a lot to work with and I feel he could have put a finer point on many things. For instance, many of the inmate's stories are told succinctly. Hale and his fellow visitors seem to have a lot more stories to tell. If you are interested in this topic at all, I do not think you will be disappointed and will quite like it. However, like me, I think you might also wish there was a bit more.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Melville House Publishing.)

If you want an inside look at people sitting on Death Row, this is the book for you. Follow people who start as strangers and become friends as they take a journey through befriending death row inmates in Tennessee.

This books shows how all lives are effected by the crimes committed by individuals and that outcomes are not always as expected.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 & 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 𝐄-𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐞𝐲𝐞-𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐨𝐰 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨. 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭–𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲, 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦–𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬.

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐨𝐰 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐈𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚.

𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒮𝓉𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝐻𝒶𝓁𝑒, 𝑀𝑒𝓁𝓋𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒫𝓊𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒-𝒜𝑅𝒞 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

This book shares the stories of men on Tennessee’s death row and the individuals who visit them, starting out as strangers but later becoming friends.

This book is equal parts horrifying and heartbreaking - on one hand for the victims of their crimes and their families, and also for the perpetrators themselves as Hale explains the childhoods, mental disorders, and how those effect an individual’s own poor choices that have led them to Death row.

All in all, Hale’s book outlines how capital punishment takes something from everyone, and makes you think about the effectiveness of the death penalty in America. Hale presents the individual’s in such a way that the reader has to ask themselves if they would want to be judged and seen based solely upon the worst thing they had ever done.

While this book was thought provoking, the ending was mixture of lackluster and incomplete. It’s like the author was in mid-thought and just stopped writing. I will be interested to see the final publication to see if the ending has been added to.

Death Row Welcomes You was a fascinating read. I appreciated the human side of the people on the Row, not just focusing on their crimes. It is a must for anyone involved in the criminal justice system.

Thank you Netgalley for the book for a honest review. The only reason I gave this book a low star rating was for the length as I thought it was too long. Other than that great read on death row inmates.

When I hit page one, I took a moment to really think about where I stand on the death penalty. And it's really hard to think about.

At several points we see that these men are not the same men that were put away decades ago. They're strangers to them, whose actions they hate but can't get away from. Paraphrasing - they wanted these men dead, but instead they locked them away for years, and now those men don't exist. But the state still seeks blood.

And then it just... ended. I don't know how I expected it to end, but the timing fell a little flat. After a quick Google search, I learned that Terry King, among other named former death row inmates, was suing the state in the hopes of getting access to a firing squad (over the electrocution chair and lethal injection). The earliest article I found was from 2018, the last from 2020 stating a trial date had been set for 2022. I couldn't find how that ended. But certainly that was interesting enough to not only mention but end on - "While Terry anxiously awaits what he feels is inevitable given the state's recent execution rate, he fights for choice in his death, advocating instead for the firing squad." Ya know, something like that.

Wow. 5 stars for this very interesting book. I found this under true crime, and still and not sure why I requested it, but I am glad I did.

Author Steven Hale, is an award winning journalist. During his career, he was sent to follow executions in Tennessee when the state increased dramatically the number of prisoners they were executing. This book focuses on the men on death row and the visitors who spend time with them, along with the author's time spent with the prisoners. These visitors are simply ordinary people.... not groupies or activists. The author does not try to sway you one way or the other on the death penalty.

We hear the background story of each man her covered. Their life, their crimes, their time behind bars. Some of these crimes were quite heinous and that was not hidden from the reader. This was happening around the same time that certain execution drugs were no longer available and states were experimenting with other formulas. The first man covered in the book was fighting demons and mental illness since the age of 6. The author wrote that this man had never had a happy normal day in his life.

I am in no way an activist or an outspoken believer or proponent of the death penalty. I have my beliefs and believe that you cannot regain a life by taking one. Although the crimes are barbaric, we are suppposed to be a civilized society. Therefore, this book hit hard for me. Not to say I excuse the crimes, however, I don't excuse the way mental illness is still so stigmatized in this country.

Thank you to Melville House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC. I greatly appreciate it. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Melville House Publishing, and the author for allowing me to read a copy of this book. I really liked how the author writes this from a neutral perspective; this book is not trying to sway the reader one way or the other on the Death Penalty. I really like how he goes in to meet the prisoners without researching their past; he goes in to befriend and learn about the person that they are currently. This book took me a bit to get through; I kept stopping to Google the different prisoners. Not necessarily to learn about their crimes, more to put a face to the name. Overall this book was well written and a great read.

In the publication Death Row Welcomes You by Steven Hale, the author unmasks the reinstatement of executions in Tennessee after a long period of suspension. Award-winning journalist Hale gives an insight into the lives of death row inmates and the visitors who come to see them.

One of the distinguishing features of this book is that the author was able to gain access to the condemned prisoners and their visitors. Hale delves into their lives, diving deep into their stories of how they got on death row and how this experience impacted them. These visitors are not the kind of activists or death row groupies. They are everyday people whose lives have been dramatically altered by their relationships with these prisoners.

Hale writes both informative and compassionate. He gives the facts about the executions while also allowing the emotions and the views of the different people implicated in them. Instead, he uses his journalistic talents to vividly picture life behind bars and how the death penalty affects inmates and visitors.

The book also discusses how the state of Tennessee has been carrying out executions and the limitations of the media in accessing these events. Because Hale has to work as a reporter covering these executions, he can provide a unique vision of an area that is generally kept beyond the reach of the public.

Death Row Welcomes You is a thought-provoking and riveting book. First, the book is dedicated to everybody interested in learning more about the death penalty and its impacts on prisoners’ lives and society, as thanks to Steven Hale’s meticulous research and strong storytelling, reading it becomes inevitable. It represents a significant and timely contribution to the discussion about capital punishment.

Thank you to Melville House Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. Death Row Welcomes You is well-written and a grim reminder of potential consequences to crime. Its also a reminder of either justice or injustice being served. Steven Hale takes an in-depth look at the the lives of several death row inmates, through research and conversations in person with some of the inmates. The author provides history of a few of the methods of execution. Whether you support or don't support the death penalty, Death Row Welcomes You is a worthwhile story.

Death Row Welcomes You will stay with me for a long time. While at times it was slightly difficult for me to keep all the different names separate, I really appreciated the way Steven Hale handled such difficult and complicated subject matter. I've read a number of memoirs about people imprisoned on death row, but this is one of the few that I felt did not shy away from the heinousness of the crimes, while also being unapologetic about the humanity of the one who made the terrible mistake. I also appreciated Steven's in depth discussion of the childhood of multiple of these men, as well as the journeys multiple visitors went on throughout their life getting to the point of being invested in prison ministries. I think too many people are too removed from the death penalty and don't give enough thought to what occurs in our country, and I thought this book helped me develop more empathy for this difficult situation. I will recommend this to many of my friends and family.

Death Row Welcomes You is a harrowing look inside the lives of Death Row inmates, many of whom are facing the end of the clock. The book focuses on those who visit people in Death Row, how Death Row operates, and the humanity that we must force ourselves to look deeper into.

This was a long read for the best reason. I kept leaving the book to go look up people, or incidents that came up. You 100% do not need to do that to enjoy and understand this book, I’m just weird. This was a really fascinating look at a subject most of us don’t really want to think about.

The writing on this was so well done that it could be read and discussed with people on both sides of the death penalty debate without starting brawls. I knew what my opinion was going in, and the book worked for me.

I loved this one and I recommend it to everyone. It’s a subject that needs to be talked about.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. My opinions are all mine.

"The best way to expose the inhumanity of the death penalty (is) to expose people to the humanity of the men condemned to it."

Hale expertly accomplishes this by goal by writing, "Death Row Welcomes You", an enlightening look into the lives of those on death row. and the toll it takes on those serving their sentences, as well as their supporters and their victims. Hale's first-hand accounts of his visits to death row are truly fascinating as the reader is able to gain an understanding of the inner working of the prison and the lives of the prisoners. This book is a call to action for a more humane prison system that focuses on education and rehabilitation, rather than more punishment. After all, a true mark of our humanity is how humanely we treat others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Melville House Publishing for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a pretty fascinating look into the people on death row and how executions are handled. It also is interesting to read about those who visit the death row inmates who aren't family but become close friends with these men.
When I was in college, I took a 2 week prison tour and was able to see where lethal injections were performed and I even got it sit in the electric chair. Such a haunting experience!

This was a good look inside Death Row by the author. It not only shares details about the prisoners on the row, but tells about the people who come to visit the prisoners too. It's a lot more than just family members who come there, and for reasons that will make you think. What Hale found inside surprised and changed him.

A wonderfully written book that will make you really ask yourself how you truly feel about the death penalty. The author shows us the entire picture - who the condemned person was, his background/childhood, the alleged crime that took place (some admit to their crime and others held fast to their innocence), the victims, their families (both in and out of the prison) and those that came to visit and come to know them. Some of these crimes are so horrific but after reading their stories the author had convinced me that these men had truly changed. I am not a proponent of the death penalty but some of these cases took 30+ years before the executions took place and I do feel for the families. It is truly a profound book - read it!