Some People Deserve to Die

On April 20, 2017, Ledell Lee, an African-American man in Arkansas, was executed for the 1993 murder of his neighbor, Debra Reesed despite maintaining his innocence until the last moment.

On Tuesday, August 22, 2017, at 6 pm Marcellus Williams should, according to the law, have drawn his last breath as a cocktail of lethal chemicals entered his body and terminated his life.

Sentenced to death for the 1988 murder of Ms. Lisha Gayle during a robbery at her home, Missouri State Governor, Eric Geitens, delayed Williams’s execution to enable consideration of new DNA evidence.

Williams, in addition to the murder conviction, is also serving consecutive terms of life in prison for robbery and 30 years each for burglary and weapons crimes.

On August 23, 2017 a Google search for ‘Do Some People Deserve To Die’ returned over 4 million results indicating the scale, scope, and depth of the debate within contemporary society.

What is your opinion?

Could you decide who should live or die?

What criteria would you use to decide life or death?

Who would do the killing?

Some People Deserve To Die is a story of survival, revenge, and the decisions one man makes to decide the ultimate fate of many people.

It is s story of the suffering and degradation forced on the protagonist which over time transforms Alan, a timid teenage boy, in to a ruthless killer.

After twenty years of running from his crime, and equipped with frightening skills learned in the violence-laden drug smuggling world, and refined while fighting with mercenaries in Africa, Alan has become a destitute alcoholic roaming the streets of downtown Toronto.

A chance encounter, a violent confrontation, and the death of his mother coincide to provide Alan with a chance of recovery.

Sober, Alan seeks redemption by punishing those he holds responsible for his original crime.

In creating Alan, I sought to develop a character that elicits both sympathy and outrage and force the reader to confront the same moral dilemmas as Alan and ultimately to answer the question: Do some people deserve to die?

Some People Deserve To Die

Guilt for a despicable and immoral act forces Alan Davies into a life of crime and violence and transforms him from an innocent sixteen year old boy into a merciless, yet sympathetic, protagonist who dispenses brutal justice to those he holds responsible for the death of his sister and destroying his life. 

Alan Davies, a naive and vulnerable teenager, is tricked into committing an immoral and abhorrent crime. Riven by guilt and remorse he runs, but he can’t outrun his conscience. 
For twenty years, Alan tries to silence his conscience with alcohol and drugs as fate and chance propel him in to the dangerous world of smugglers, nationalists, guerrillas, and mercenaries. 
Battling alcohol and drug abuse, Alan dodges death and betrayal as life erodes his humanity and transforms him into a merciless killer until, used up and spent, he returns home. 
Destitute and dysfunctional, a street scuffle brings him eye-to-eye with the men responsible for his heinous crime. Harnessing skills and cruelty learned through a crime and violence-laden life Alan seeks justice for himself and his victim. But when justice has been served, Alan discovers the devastating truth about his crime, his family and himself.

Rich with scene details, almost Tarantino-esque in terms of visualization, plot twists, and blurry characters (in terms of good vs. evil, right vs. wrong - and just who decides that stuff anyway?). Definitely falls into the category of "life is all about shades of grey", what shade of grey are you? Did leave me wondering though, do some people really deserve to die? Amazon.ca reader

For those fans of dark thrillers or who enjoy a good story, this is a book for you. Mr Knight's main character, who travels to various parts of the globe to escape his troubled past, at times elicits sympathy and at other times outrage. The places and events are described in such vivid detail that the reader feels that they are right there rather than viewing the story from afar. The surprise conclusion will challenge views on revenge, on victims and on perpetrators. Amazon.ca reader

This was a very compelling read. The main character's lighting fast descent into the underbelly of the hospitality underworld was a great reminder of just how seemingly inconsequential choices can change a life.

Amazon uk reader