Attorney-novelist reflects on legal system's 'ultimate punishment'

Published: 2003-12-10

NEWARK, N.J. (CNS) -- Author and attorney Scott Turow explained the route that led him to oppose the death penalty in a recent talk at Catholic-run Seton Hall Law School in Newark. "Unlike most legal issues, which the public is removed from, all Americans have opinions about the death penalty," said Turow, best known for his novel "Presumed Innocent." He added, "I don't criticize anyone's opinion on this issue because I've held all of them." An assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago from 1978 to 1986, Turow was at Seton Hall for a book signing for his latest work, "Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflection on Dealing with the Death Penalty." In his talk, he discussed death penalty cases he had worked on, the different arguments for and against the death penalty raised by each case, and his personal evolution and ultimate decision to side squarely against the death penalty.

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