Death Row Inmates Tell Their Stories in New Book

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The U.S. state with the busiest death chamber and one of the largest prison populations is Texas, where public-opinion polls show the death penalty is supported by more than 70 percent of the population. A new book, put together by students at a Texas university, compiles writings and art work done by condemned prisoners. The book, "Upon This Chessboard of Nights and Days: Voices from Texas Death Row" was published by Texas Review Press, which is based on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. That city, about 100 kilometers north of Houston, is also the location of one of the state's largest prisons and the unit where executions are carried out. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Huntsville, the book provides a rare view into the minds of men who await their moment in the death chamber.