How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
…he will weep as he tells me how he betrayed his deepest ideals by trying to be a "team player" for the governor by protecting him from difficult clemency decisions. (3.151)
The Pardon Board is supposed to ensure that justice is done and that no one is executed unjustly. Instead, they just rubber-stamp executions so that the governor doesn't have to pardon anyone, which might be politically unpopular. Being a "team player" here means betraying the public trust in order to gain political advantage. The problem is that people on Death Row have little political pull, so there's no political benefit to pardoning someone, even if that person's trial has been unfair. So politicians look for excuses not to do it. The political system is not well set up to aid the powerless. No politician wants to look "soft on crime."
Quote #5
"I felt like I was in some sort of police state. All that energy and organization and money to kill a man…" (5.3)
Prejean's sister waited in the car during Pat's execution, and SWAT team members would grab their rifles every time she got out of the car to stretch. Executions, she's suggesting, affect politics more broadly: a country where people are executed is a country that is going to put a lot of money into an execution. Following this logic, a country where the police can kill you is going to start to look like—and even become—a police state.
Quote #6
Get involved with poor people and controversy follows you like a hungry dog. (5.100)
Advocating for poor people, Prejean realizes, is innately political. Trying to give a voice to the powerless is going to create political pushback from the powerful. So, if this book inspires you to work for change, in any way, Prejean is telling you that you're going to have to start watching your back. It's a lot harder to be a good guy than a bad guy, unfortunately.