Grief, Loss, and Treatment for Death Row Families: Forgotten No More

(Paperback)

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The families of death row inmates are rarely considered in public discourse regarding the death penalty. They have largely been forgotten, and their pain has not been acknowledged by the rest of society. These families experience a unique grief process as they are confronted with the loss of their loved one to death row and brace themselves for the possibility of an execution. Death row families are disenfranchised from their grief by the surrounding community, and their; mental health needs exacerbated as they struggle in isolation with the ambiguous loss that comes with the fear that the state will kill their loved one. Grief, Loss, and Treatment for Death Row Families describes the grief that families experience from the time of their loved ones arrest through his or her execution. In each chapter, Sandra Joy guides the reader through the grief process experienced by the families, offering clinical interventions that can be used by mental health professionals who are given the opportunity to work with these families at various stages of their grief. The author conducted over seventy qualitative interviews with family members from Delaware who either currently have a loved one on death row or have survived the execution of their loved one. Delaware was chosen because though it has a relatively small death row, it is ranked third in the nation with its rate of per capita executions. This book provides an in-depth awareness of the grieving process of death row families, as well as ways that professionals can intervene to assist them in healing. With increased awareness and effective clinical treatment, we can ensure that the families of death row inmates are forgotten no more.

Reviews

This is a good and important book that fills a nearly total gap in the thanatological literature that has essentially ignored the population of families of death row inmates coping with grief and loss. . . .This is a worthwhile clinical book . . . It is very informative about how our court systems function and how death row families understandably are traumatized by the entire experience. They do, indeed, need mental health and bereavement services. This book will provide immeasurable insights for any counselors who have or actively seek out the opportunity to serve this population. * Omega - Journal of Death and Dying *
Sandra Joy has captured my family's story and the agony we have experienced since our nightmare began in 1990. Her book will help those who share my nightmare and the professionals who wish to help us through our suffering. -- Barbara Lewis
In an incredibly sensitive book, Grief, Loss, and Treatment for Death Row Families: Forgotten No More, Sandra Joy explores the disenfranchised grief of a most forgotten populationfamilies of death row inmates. Clinicians will find this a very special work of value not only to those who work with or wish to understand the struggles of these individuals but also for an extraordinary application of the role of the grief therapist in the most difficult circumstances. It is a must-read! -- Kenneth Doka, The Graduate School of The College of New Rochelle

Author Bio

Sandra Joy is associate professor in the sociology department at Rowan University and author of Coalition Building in the AntiDeath Penalty Movement: Privileged Morality, Race Realities.