Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

ON DEATH ROW

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An ex bandit fights the silence of prison life with her notebook and pen; A father remembers the night his younger son was arrested for rape and murder; A woman finds out from her fellow inmates that she’s been given the death penalty.

Between 2013 and 2016, Project 39A, a criminal justice research and litigation centre based out of National Law University, Delhi, conducted interviews with death row prisoners and their families. These interviews became the basis for the Death Penalty India Report, 2016 – a first of its kind empirical study on the socio-economic profile of death row prisoners and their interactio­n with the criminal justice system. But the study also revealed something else. It brought to light the deeply human and personal stories of very real people and a snapshot of their fluctuatin­g realities. The 19 stories in this book written by Jahnavi Misra are based on these interviews. Profoundly moving and illuminati­ng, The Punished takes us on a journey into the lives and minds of the men and women often demonised by society and discarded by the State.

TRUMP’S OWN DAMNING WORDS

In making their case that Trump was responsibl­e for "incitement of insurrecti­on", impeachmen­t managers on Day 2 turned to one point: his words. They played clips from his January 6 speech in which he urged supporters to march on the Capitol and "fight like hell".

UNDENIABLE LINK WITH RIOTERS

Impeachmen­t managers showed that Trump himself was linked to the those who stormed the Capitol. They quoted rioter after rioter who said they took Trump for his word when he told them he needed them to save the nation.

MORE CHILLING DETAILS SHOWN

Shocking new security footage shown at the trial made clear exactly how close vice-president Mike Pence and senior lawmakers had been to the raging mob before they were evacuated. Some lawmakers acknowledg­ed after seeing the images they had been unaware how narrow their escape was.

BACKERS ARE STILL UNMOVED

Despite hours of dramatic visuals, and airtight arguments against Trump's innocence in the events of January 6, several conservati­ves say they will not support conviction. Some Republican­s made a point of ignoring the proceeding­s by doodling in notepads or reading newspapers or books.

 ??  ?? The Punished
Jahnavi Misra 150pp, ~499, HarperColl­ins
The Punished Jahnavi Misra 150pp, ~499, HarperColl­ins

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