Summary

“Broken.” In the first part of this chapter, Stevenson describes Walter’s quick physical and emotional decline, officially diagnosed as dementia brought about by trauma. It proved challenging to find a place for Walter to live, Stevenson writes, partly because staying in a care home reminded him of being on death row. Eventually, Walter was taken in by a sister, who did her best to care for him.

Meanwhile, Stevenson also writes, he became busier than ever, taking on more and more death row cases, including that of the developmentally delayed Jimmy Dill. All of Stevenson’s efforts to repeal Dill’s sentence ended in failure. Stevenson writes that on the night of Dill’s execution, he (Stevenson) was overwhelmed by the challenges ahead of him and, weeping, contemplated quitting. But then, he adds, he remembered two things: being forced, as a...