The unsung heroes who defend the accused from the ultimate punishment
What motivates someone to make a career out of defending some of the worst suspected killers of our time? In Capital Defense, Jon B. Gould and Maya Pagni Barak give us a glimpse into the lives of lawyers who choose to work in the darkest corner of our criminal justice system: death penalty cases. Based on in-depth personal interviews with a cross-section of the nation’s top capital defense teams, the book explores the unusual few who voluntarily represent society’s “worst of the worst.”
With a compassionate and careful eye, Gould and Barak chronicle the experiences of American lawyers, who—like soldiers or surgeons—operate under the highest of stakes, where verdicts have the power to either “take death off the table” or put clients on “the conveyor belt towards death.” These lawyers are a rare breed in a field that is otherwise seen as dirty work and in a system that is overburdened, under-resourced, and overshadowed by social, cultural, and political pressures.
Examining the ugliest side of our criminal justice system, Capital Defense offers an up-close perspective on the capital litigation process and its impact on the people who participate in it.

"These ideas, if put into action, might provide real change in a system where defendants pay the ultimate price. Capital Defense is an important book for those interested in law, lawyers, and the death penalty in the US." - Choice

"Gould and Barak set out to provide an accurate overview about the qualities of the lawyers who bear a burden quite unlike any other burden borne by actors in the legal system. Given their own objective, Gould and Barak have delivered a worthwhile and well-written book that tells us much more than we knew before, but also much less than it is possible to know." - Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Book Reviews