A Saint on Death Row

The Story of Dominique Green

By: Thomas Cahill

Narrated by: Thomas Cahill

Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

On October 26, 2004, Dominique Green, 30, was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas. Arrested at the age of 18 in the fatal shooting of a man during a robbery outside a Houston convenience store, Green may have taken part in the robbery but always insisted that he did not pull the trigger. The jury, which had no African Americans on it, sentenced him to death. Despite obvious errors in the legal procedures and the protests of the victim's family, he spent the last 12 years of his life on Death Row.

When Cahill found himself in Texas in December 2003, he visited Dominique at the request of Judge Sheila Murphy, who was working on the appeal of the case. In Dominique, he encountered a level of goodness, peace, and enlightenment that few human beings ever attain. Cahill joined the fierce fight for Dominique's life, even enlisting Dominique's hero, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to make an historic visit to Dominique and to plead publicly for mercy. Cahill was so profoundly moved by Dominique's extraordinary life that he was compelled to tell the tragic story of his unjust death at the hands of the state.

A Saint on Death Row will introduce you to a young man whose history, innate goodness, and final days you will never forget. It also shines a necessary light on America's racist and deeply flawed legal system. A Saint on Death Row is an absorbing, sobering, and deeply spiritual story that illuminates the moral imperatives too often ignored in the headlong quest for justice.

©2009 Thomas Cahill (P)2009 Listening Library

Listen with your heart

I must adimit I love people's life story. This is a compelling story of a child's trauma and suffering. The aftermath of a neglected human being, an uncared for child that started out on a bad note should open our eyes as to what needs to be our focus.
As I listened to this story, I was struggling with some unforgiveness myself. But listening to the attitude and outlook of a man on death row brought me to conviction within my own soul. When a man on death row can talk about being thankful for so much, what on earth did I have to complain about.
Would love to see this story on film some day. Incredible.

Uplifting

If you could sum up A Saint on Death Row in three words, what would they be?

True, sad, enlightening, maddening, uplifting. Sorry, I couldn't stop at three.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely, but it would have been bad for my blood pressure.

An eye for an eye. That depends

This book was a sad commentary on the justice system in the state of Texas. It’s quite sad and remarkable how the system seems to have such a significant bias against minorities. What is also quite shocking is how a country that serves as a beacon of hope for the oppressed and disadvantage of the world stills maintains the barbarism of capital punishment. I somehow get the feeling though that if the majority of Americans had the opportunity to speak directly to the issue while armed with the information that so well laid out in this book, it might be a different story. The author points out that one in eight individuals executed is quite probably innocent. Incredible! This book left me with a nagging question as to how some of those involved in the administration of justice, particularly in the state of Texas can sleep at night!

Love it

Love this book, I pray to God almighty to look after us in this life and in the life to come.

A journey worth following

This was a profound story about an man's personal journey. It was begun in the pursuit of justice and ended in enlightenment and inner peace. As with most journeys of this nature the light that grew within fell upon all who "travelled" with him.
The lack of even a path to justice for the innocent or guilty is as appalling as Dominique's personal growth is uplifting.
-Tracie Whitfield

Tragedy.

Absolutely heartbreaking...heart wrenching. An indictment against human beings who claim to value life. Beyond tragic.

Moving, Inspiring, Troubling, Memorable

This book struck many chords. The atrocity of a faulty justice system. The determination of a condemned man to change his world and that of others.
Makes one rethink the death penalty.
Inspiring, troubling, memorable.

Not for the faint of heart

I'll be thinking about these people and this miscarriage of justice gratefully and with insufficient outrage as it has nowhere to go should it explode inside me as it should.