Overview

When fifteen-year-old Judy Adams runs away with Alvin Neelley, she entangles herself in a web of lies and criminality. After committing two murders Judy has two choices: she can remain with her husband, Alvin, and become a serial killer or turn herself in to the police. Seven months later she is sent to death row in the women's prison of Alabama. Judy can't understand how she became a murderer and the victim of Alvin, whose physical and psychological brutality reduced Judy to being his puppet. Slowly an idea takes shape. In whatever time she has, can she write to victims and family members of victims to tell them of her remorse? Will they be willing to read and believe what she has written? This book chronicles thirty-nine years of the author's relationship with Judy in various roles, as chaplain, spiritual director, confidante, grief counselor, and friend.

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9781922329646

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Reviews

"""Former prison chaplain, Louise Stowe-Johns, opens us to discovering meaning and grace in the life of one condemned to death. It is revelatory reading for those who are willing to gain insight into the devastating effects of spousal abuse and its coercive control. Her book also is a glaring indictment of a justice system that has failed to address the harm and ramifications of such control, and it raises urgent questions about the morality and efficacy of imprisonment and the death penalty."" - Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking ""Redemption of a Murderer is a stunning read about the nature of forgiveness and injustice. Author Louise Stowe-Johns shows us the kidnapped soul of a fifteen-year-old girl who became a lethal puppet in a sadistic monster's crime spree. This story is both an indictment of the patriarchal criminal justice system and an affirmation of the power of humanity."" - Lisa St. John, Author of Swallowing Stones ""Compelling reading. I couldn't put it down."" - Lenore Walker, Ed.D., Psychologist and Author, The Battered Woman Syndrome"

Author Information

"Louise Stowe-Johns is an ordained elder (retired) in the United Methodist Church. She served congregations in Alabama from 1992-1998 and in New York from 2000-2015. She was an adjunct instructor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Huntingdon College, Montgomery, Alabama from 1974-1992. In addition to teaching courses in Christian Education and Bible she taught Criminology for several semesters. She was also an instructor in a course, ""American Christianity,"" for inmates through Central Alabama Community College.She was chaplain in female and male prisons in Alabama, 1984-1990. After resigning from chaplaincy she became the spiritual counselor for Judy Neelley, a death row inmate at the women's prison in Alabama. Through frequent contact, Judy began to trust Louise, which led to Judy's sharing her story.She created the first regional victim-offender reconciliation program in Alabama. She has mediated criminal cases from nonviolent to violent, done community mediation, and consulted on cases outside of Alabama. She also is the founder and was the Executive Director for ""Epiphany,"" a program for youth offenders, which is in eleven states. She taught art and drama in North Carolina and English as a Second Language in Germany.She completed her Doctor of Ministry program in restorative justice from Columbia Theological School, Decatur, Georgia in 2001. In 2022 she was a TEDxWarrenton (Virginia) speaker. Crime, Punishment, and Redemption"

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