"I endorse this book wholeheartedly." Dennis Prager, The Dennis Prager Show
"The book simply flattens its opponents... [An] unparalleled -- and, I'm tempted to say, irrefutable -- marshalling of evidence and logic" Janet Smith, Claremont Review of Books
"This excellent, convincing, and much-needed book will be valuable not only to Catholics, but to readers of any faith who ask why capital punishment is justified." J. Budziszewski, Professor of Government and Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin
"At long last, we have a serious and intelligent look at all aspects of the death penalty... This book brilliantly sheds some much needed realism in the fuzzy thinking in our society and often in the Church on this basic question." Fr. James V. Schall, S.J., Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University
"Feser and Bessette are exceptionally lucid and well-balanced thinkers. They have produced an illuminating study of a subject often clouded by emotions." Robert Royal, President, Faith and Reason Institute
"The arguments in this book have clarified many of the contentions of this critical issue in my mind." Fr. Robert A. Sirico, President, The Acton Institute
"A triumph of truth over platitude, of fact over fiction, and of argument over emotion... From this point on, all contributions to the capital punishment debate, especially as conducted by and among Catholics, must incorporate the work of Feser and Bessette or risk irrelevance." Edward N. Peters, Professor of Canon Law, Sacred Heart Major Seminary
"Intelligent, well-documented, and persuasive." Fr. Kevin Flannery, S.J., Professor of Philosophy, Pontifical Gregorian University
"Return[s] to the domain of charitable and luminous right reason a subject too frequently distorted by fetters of political correctness, doctrinal ignorance, and a certain emotive blindness." Steven A. Long, Professor of Theology, Ave Maria University
"The solid scholarship in this book is timely and, really, overdue. When sentiment usurps reason, authentic development of doctrine is distorted into destruction of doctrine." Fr. George William Rutler, Pastor, Church of St. Michael, New York City
"Feser and Bessette conclusively show that in Catholic doctrine the death penalty is a moral, legitimate and appropriate punishment for certain heinous crimes." Fr. Gerald Murray, J.C.D., Pastor, Holy Family Church, New York City
"One of the clearest and most compelling pro-death penalty essays I've ever seen." Barry Latzer, Emeritus Professor of Criminal Justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
"No one has explained these things so thoroughly as Feser and Bessette, and no one has so thoroughly debunked the counter arguments, both scholarly and popular." Michael Pakaluk, Professor of Ethics, The Busch School of Business and Economics, The Catholic University of America
"It's long overdue that Catholics understand that the Church teaches the death penalty can be a legitimate form of punishment. The teaching of recent popes and bishops must always be respected, but, on this point, the saints and the tradition of the Church have also spoken. Their voices, too, must be heard." Fr. Thomas Petri, O.P., Vice President and Academic Dean, Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C.
"[The book argues] that the Church's position on capital punishment has always been that it is not intrinsically evil, but it is rather a matter of prudential decision about which there can be valid disagreement. This argument is completely convincing, given the abundance of evidence from philosophy, scripture, and Tradition." James Jacobs, Crisis Magazine
"So thorough and so relentless that it is difficult to imagine anybody reading it and coming away unconvinced by the lawfulness and usefulness of capital punishment." William M. Briggs, One Peter Five
"Anything written by Edward Feser is reliable and worth time... This is a good book for the strong reader, student of Catholic moral and social teaching, seminarians and clerics." Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, Fr. Z's Blog
"The debate on capital punishment is a good one to have and there are strong arguments to be made on both sides... Whether we like it or not, Bessette and Feser have made strong points." Fr. Dwight Longenecker
"Trenchant and cogent." Daniel Lendman, Reading Religion
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