Violence & Victimization Surviving the Death Penalty By Diana and Ted Harrington Victims of Violent Crime By Diana and Ted Harrington In 1980, Donald Ray Wallace Jr. executed Diana Harrington’s 30-year-old sister Theresa, her husband Patrick, and their children, Lisa and Gregory; he shot them point-blank. Twenty-five years later, the State of Michigan executed Donald Wallace; lying on a gurney, he was given a lethal injection. Surviving the Death Penalty is a long, hard chronicle of what happened to Diana Harrington and her husband Ted in between these events – learning about the deaths, the murderer’s arrest, newspaper stories, trial sessions, jury deliberations, sentencing, more newspaper stories, life in prison, delays, appeals, and more delays. Meanwhile everyone gets older and the agony of the 1980 murders lingers. The Harrington’s received scant attention from the criminal justice system, which naturally angered them. This book is hard to read because it is a bare bones account of painful events, and the pain never seems to drift away. Furthermore, no one, from the state’s criminal justice apparatus to the Harrington’s themselves seems to effectively help alleviate or heal the whole sad situation. The Harrington’s at least try, and at one point they were even in contact with their kin’s murderer in an effort to learn some answers to their questions. The criminal justice system was less helpful. In the end, Donald Ray Wallace is executed, and the Harrington’s try to move on. One product of their effort is Victims of Violent Crime, a short, concise self-help treatise that describes being a victim of violent crime, dealing with those difficult questions concerning why such an event occurred, going through a cycle of hate, anger and guilt, figuring out how to live with the loss of a relative, confronting legislative efforts that may come your way, confronting the criminal, interacting with the media, looking for a therapist, and finding good friends. Copies: Diana and Ted Harrington’s are readily available through the websites for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walden and Borders Books.