DEATH BY INSTALLMENTS. The Ordeal of Willie Francis

Hardback. Featuring the grisly tale of Willie Francis's 'double electrocution' with the kind of insight into the judicial process that provides a much-needed comprehension of the machinery of government and politics. The case of Willie Francis has been scrutinized and re-examined over several decades, and it is still not clear whether he was guilty of the crime for which he was eventually executed in Louisiana in 1947. The book recounts the ordeal of this teenaged black youth who was sent a second time to the electric chair a year after repeated attempts to supply enough current to kill him failed. His tragic story raised disturbing questions not only about capital punishment itself but about the humanity of the methods of carrying out executions, and as a nation to uphold fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The authors describe Francis's experiences from the time of his arrest, and they review the legal struggles within the Supreme Court that followed the botched execution attempt in 1946. An important book for those concerned with constitutional questions, criminal justice, and human rights. With Notes, Bibliog. and Index. 178pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. Ex-lib. with discreet markings, but still Vg. in sl. faded vg. dw.