““This is a must read for anyone who cares about justice.””
Praise for Quest for Justice: Defending the Damned (2nd Ed.)
“At the outset here I must admit a bias about Quest for Justice: Richard Jaffe is a close friend, a close colleague and a trusted advisor who I have tried many cases with (some of which are in this book) and consulted with on many more. But there is a reason for all of that as any reader will clearly see in this incredible book. Quest for Justice is a poignant and insightful book about the imperfections in our criminal justice system and one determined lawyer’s mission to right as many wrongs as he can. It reads almost as a possible sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird had Tom Robinson not been killed and Richard Jaffe took up the case. Richard Jaffe is that kind of Atticus Finch and Quest for Justice is that kind of important book.”
— Doug Jones, former United States Senator and Author of Bending Toward Justice: The Birmingham Church Bombing that Changed the Course of Civil Rights
“Richard Jaffe takes the reader through the intricacies and intransience of a deeply flawed system. This book is a wonderful teaching tool; helping the reader to confront the ethical and moral issues extant in defending death penalty cases.”
— Professor Andrea D. Lyon, Capital Defense Lawyer and Author of Angel of Death Row, The Death Penalty: What’s Keeping It Alive, and The Feminine Sixth: Women for the Defense
“This book is a page-turner that reads like a novel, but the stories are true and the people are real. I defy anyone to read this book and not be shaken to their core. It is a searing and important indictment of our criminal legal system, but at the same time it has a hopeful message because of the inspiring and brilliant work of its author, Richard Jaffe, who has overcome huge odds and saved innocent people's lives. This is a must read for anyone who cares about justice.”
— Jason Flom, Founding Board Member, Innocence Project, and Host of the Lava for Good podcast, Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom
““This book offers a critically important eyewitness account of what it means to fight for justice on behalf of the disfavored and accused.””
“Richard Jaffe has been on the frontlines navigating difficult legal terrain for decades. This book offers a critically important eyewitness account of what it means to fight for justice on behalf of the disfavored and accused. Critical reading for anyone who wants to ‘walk the walk.’”
— Bryan stevenson, founder and executive director of the equal justice initiative and author of just mercy: a story of justice and redemption
“This book will open your mind and grip your heart. It will open your mind about the criminal justice system and grip your heart about the men and women who face the death penalty. Richard Jaffe is a great trial lawyer. He has been described as a lawyer whose cross-examinations ‘turn night into day,’ which I interpreted to mean that he could expose the truth in cases where mere mortal lawyers could not. He is an equally talented author. Grab this book today!”
— Christopher W. Adams, criminal defense lawyer, charleston, south carolina
“Richard is an amazing trial lawyer, a wonderful friend, and a champion of indigent defense. In Quest for Justice, through astute personal observations of the Alabama communities in which he came of age and the professional communities in which he practices law, Richard takes you on a compelling journey into the present day and historically based inequities in the criminal justice system.”
— Kevin L. Butler, Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Alabama
““Every criminal defense trial lawyer should read Richard’s book before defending a case in court.””
“I have known Richard Jaffe as a respected colleague and close friend since we were college roommates 50 years ago. Richard is one of the very finest trial lawyers in the United States. He has tried and successfully defended more capital cases than any other lawyer I know. Richard has written a book that is full of valuable suggestions and is brilliant in its intuitive insight. Every criminal defense trial lawyer should read Richard's book before defending a case in court.”
— Mark S. Mandell, Past President of the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the American Trial Lawyers Association) and Author of Case Framing and Advanced Case Framing
“Quest for Justice: Defending the Damned not only reads like a superb courtroom thriller, but is an inspiring and essential book for those in the criminal defense bar, particularly death penalty defense work.”
— Daniel R. Shulman, Trial Lawyer, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Praise for quest for justice: Defending the damned (1st ed.)
“Quest for Justice is both a gripping legal thriller and a chilling indictment of the death penalty. The inside story of how Richard Jaffe saved the lives of three innocent men who were already on Death Row illustrates why he is one of the most remarkable criminal defense attorneys in America.”
- Maryanne Vollers, author, Ghosts of Mississippi and Lone Wolf: Eric Rudolph and the Legacy of American Terror
“This riveting book takes you inside the intricate human drama of real death penalty cases — defendants who are guilty and those who are innocent — in a way you will not forget. Some of these stories will shock and challenge even the strongest proponents of capital punishment. Quest for Justice: Defending the Damned is a must read for those who care about justice in America.”
- Barry Scheck, Prof. of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Co-Director of the Innocence Project
“Quest for Justice is a rare look inside the mind of an attorney who has devoted his life to fighting for justice and freeing the innocent. His courage, persistence and intelligence are a gift to all of us who care about true justice and liberty. Richard’s gripping story should be required reading for anyone interested in criminal justice in America.”
- Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, authors of The Exonerated and Living Justice
“This book tells the stories of people once convicted and sentenced to death and later acquitted of the same charges. It tells how it happened, shows the criminal courts are fallible and that poor people facing the death penalty may live or die depending on the competence and dedication of the lawyers appointed to defend them.”
- Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Harvard Law Professor
“The criminal justice system has been the least impacted by change in matters related to race in our nation. This writing by Richard Jaffe is a ‘rock in a weary land’ on the subject. We owe him a great deal for this important, yea, critical work.”
- Reverend Joseph Lowery, Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, delivered the closing prayer at the inauguration of President Barack Obama
“An excellent account of what passes for justice in Alabama — innocent people sentenced to death and saved from execution only by the good fortune of getting Richard Jaffe to take their case, eccentric pistol-packing judges, and pervasive racism. It is also about the humanity of the guilty as well as the innocent. We meet them up close, get to know them and realize that they are much more than the worst thing they did in their lives.”
- Stephen Bright, President and Senior Counsel of the Southern Center for Human Rights
“This poignant and insightful book tells the story of America’s experience with capital punishment as only a person on the front lines can tell it. Richard Jaffe is the person to tell this story. With each new chapter, you meet the people who the state has sought to kill and begin to understand why Jaffe has devoted his life to saving them. Quest for Justice will change the way you feel about capital punishment and the men and women on America’s death row.”
- Professor Penny White, Elvin E. Overton Distinguished Professor of Law and Director, Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, University of Tennessee College of Law
“The sad truth is that the justice system is imperfect at best and a death sentence, once served, is flat and final. Richard Jaffe has for years stood in the way of that rush to justice, and here, with real drama, tells his story. He takes us inside a world where a rusty gun in the weeds, not fired in recent memory, can somehow become a murder weapon that can send a man to death row, a world where flawed and even fictional testimony can put a needle in a man’s arm.”