In the annals of American criminal justice, two prisons stand out as icons of institutionalized brutality and deprivation - Alcatraz and Sing Sing. In the 70 years before 1963, when the death sentence was declared unconstitutional in New York, Sing Sing was the site of almost half of the 1353 executions carried out in the state. This text is based on archive material and takes the reader on a disturbing journey through Sing Sing's legendary death house and introduces the reader to those whose lives Sing Sing claimed. The text follows prisoners from their introduction to the rules of Sing Sing, through their contact with guards and psychiatrists, their pleas for clemency, escape attempts, resistance and their final letters and messages before being put to death.
