September 29, 2011
Welcome to our site!
Tune in Thursday evenings from 6-7 p.m. Eastern Time on PRN
Tom S. Morgan and Jimmy Patterson Talk About Capital Punishment
September 29, 2011
There were two executions in the United States on September 21, 2011. In Georgia, Troy Anthony Davis, an African American man, was put to death for the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. In Texas, Lawrence Brewer, a white supremacist, was executed for his involvement in the hate crime dragging death of James Byrd in Jasper in 1998.
Texan Jimmy Patterson has 25 years' experience as a newspaper writer, reporter, and editor. Tom S. Morgan is a defense attorney in the Lone Star State who has won most of his 395 jury trials. Together, they're taking readers into a life of crime…and taking a stark look at the death penalty. Patterson and Morgan, authors of Chisos Mountain Sunset, have combined their talents to not only pen their fact-based legal thriller, but to delve into the issues of crime and capital punishment as seen from both sides of their respective careers.
"I have always wanted to fictionalize some of the court cases that I've defended over the years," says Morgan. "I was intrigued by this specific case – a 1988 shooting of two police officers in Fort Stockton, Texas, and the trial that followed – particularly its emphasis on the death penalty, always a hot button issue in the U.S." Patterson adds, "Having worked as a reporter and being immersed in news for over two decades, writing about this case has been an opportunity to achieve my dream of entering a new world of 'reporting.' I'm able to put a more personal face on crime and those involved."
Patterson and Morgan discuss:
- The rights and wrongs of capital punishment – why it's still such a hot button issue
- Today's media reporting vs. sensationalism
- Examining the different facets of career criminals; can they be rehabilitated?
- Criminals and their victims: forgiveness, redemption and the healing power of faith.
- The case behind the book and why the story had to be re-told