{"product_id":"the-deserving-what-the-lives-of-the-condemned-reveal-about-american-justice-9781639731398","title":"The Deserving: What the Lives of the Condemned Reveal about American Justice","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA groundbreaking new take on the American justice system from one of its unknown \"mercy workers,\" offering a powerful new vision of responsibility, punishment, and repair.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"We need the work that is mitigation. It is mercy work.\" -Sister Helen Prejean\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eElizabeth Vartkessian works with criminal defense teams as a mitigation specialist. She isn't part of the Innocence Project; her clients are often legally guilty, and often of terrible crimes. Rather, her job is to spend hundreds of hours per case talking to the parents, siblings, teachers, and neighbors of a defendant, situating their crimes in context. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFounder and director of nonprofit mitigation team Advancing Real Change Inc., Vartkessian weaves powerful, gripping stories from her extraordinary career into an inspiring argument for dignity in American justice. Her unique experience has taught her that when personal or generational trauma enters the body, it finds its way out eventually, sometimes through violence. She contends that we cannot hold her clients solely responsible for their actions, nor can we continue to stomach harsh penalties that deny real justice to perpetrators and victims alike. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAmid the Trump administration's record-high executions and calls to expand the use of the death penalty after decades of progress, \u003ci\u003eThe Deserving\u003c\/i\u003e is required reading for a dangerous new era of rollbacks. Vartkessian offers a compelling, hope-filled vision of true rehabilitation replacing retribution.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bloomsbury Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/20\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781639731398\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.12w x 1.00d","brand":"Elizabeth Vartkessian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52051824574645,"sku":"9781639731398","price":25.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_b106673d-eac1-4c21-a37d-e3e32b067042.jpg?v=1764048122","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-deserving-what-the-lives-of-the-condemned-reveal-about-american-justice-9781639731398","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}