Contributors to the book include inmates on death row, their family and friends, family members of murder victims, experts in the field, and concerned citizens and organizations. The purpose of the book is to raise public awareness of the death penalty and its application, and to bring about a change in attitude regarding capital punishment. The essays are personal in nature and attempt to move the reader by "putting a face" on the issue. Shirley Dicks, whose son is on death row for a crime she claims he did not commit, states that many people find themselves on death row largely because they are poor and could not afford competent legal representation. Other contributors point to prejudice as an unfair contributor to being sentenced to death. A common theme throughout the book is the notion that capital punishment accomplishes nothing that life imprisonment would not accomplish, and that such so-called punishment merely perpetuates the pattern of killing. The relative expense of capital punishment, given the extensive legal processes and special conditions of imprisonment involved, is also noted.