In her July cover story for The Atlantic, Elizabeth Bruenig examines the emotional logic behind capital punishment, contrasting it with her Christian values of mercy and forgiveness. Bruenig draws from her five years of experience on death row, highlighting issues such as botched executions and her relationships with inmates. Named a Pulitzer finalist for her reporting in Alabama, Bruenig has faced resistance, including a ban from Alabama prisons. Editor Jeffrey Goldberg praises her ability to confront the harsh realities of state-sanctioned killing while weaving narratives of humanity and grace, demonstrating the complexity of forgiveness in the context of crime.
Capital punishment operates according to an emotional logic... Vengeance is elemental. Injustice cries out for redress. Murder is the most horrifying of crimes.
If those forms of compassion are possible for murderers, then they're possible for everyone.
Bruenig has witnessed five executions of death-row inmates... and has helped bring attention to the prevalence of botched executions.
She has written a propulsive narrative about redemption and sin and invested her story with humanity and grace.
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