The Uninnocent: Notes on Violence and Mercy
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- Create Date：2021-11-03 19:21:06
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Katharine Blake
- ISBN：0374538522
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Summary
One of Buzzfeed's 25 New And Upcoming Books You Won't Be Able To Put Down
The Uninnocent is so elegantly crafted that the pleasure of reading it nearly overrides its devastating subject matter 。 。 。 a story of radical empathy， a triumph of care and forgiveness。 --Stephanie Danler， author of Stray and Sweetbitter
A harrowing intellectual reckoning with crime， mercy， justice and heartbreak through the lens of a murder
On a Thursday morning in June 2010， Katharine Blake's sixteen-year-old cousin walked to a nearby bike path with a boxcutter， and killed a young boy he didn't know。 It was a psychological break that tore through his brain， and into the hearts of those who loved both boys--one brutally killed， the other sentenced to die at Angola， one of the country's most notorious prisons。
In The Uninnocent， Blake， a law student at Stanford at the time of the crime， wrestles with the implications of her cousin's break， as well as the broken machinations of America's justice system。 As her cousin languished in a cell on death row， where he was assigned for his own protection， Blake struggled to keep her faith in the system she was training to join。
Consumed with understanding her family's new reality， Blake became obsessed with heartbreak， seeing it everywhere: in her cousin's isolation， in the loss at the center of the crime， in the students she taught at various prisons， in the way our justice system breaks rather than mends， in the history of her parents and their violent childhoods。 As she delves into a history of heartbreak--through science， medicine， and literature--and chronicles the uneasy yet ultimately tender bond she forms with her cousin， Blake asks probing questions about justice， faith， inheritance， family， and， most of all， mercy。
Sensitive， singular， and powerful， effortlessly bridging memoir， essay， and legalese， The Uninnocent is a reckoning with the unimaginable， unforgettable， and seemly irredeemable。 With curiosity and vulnerability， Blake unravels a distressed tapestry， finding solace in both its tearing and its mending。
The Uninnocent is so elegantly crafted that the pleasure of reading it nearly overrides its devastating subject matter 。 。 。 a story of radical empathy， a triumph of care and forgiveness。 --Stephanie Danler， author of Stray and Sweetbitter
A harrowing intellectual reckoning with crime， mercy， justice and heartbreak through the lens of a murder
On a Thursday morning in June 2010， Katharine Blake's sixteen-year-old cousin walked to a nearby bike path with a boxcutter， and killed a young boy he didn't know。 It was a psychological break that tore through his brain， and into the hearts of those who loved both boys--one brutally killed， the other sentenced to die at Angola， one of the country's most notorious prisons。
In The Uninnocent， Blake， a law student at Stanford at the time of the crime， wrestles with the implications of her cousin's break， as well as the broken machinations of America's justice system。 As her cousin languished in a cell on death row， where he was assigned for his own protection， Blake struggled to keep her faith in the system she was training to join。
Consumed with understanding her family's new reality， Blake became obsessed with heartbreak， seeing it everywhere: in her cousin's isolation， in the loss at the center of the crime， in the students she taught at various prisons， in the way our justice system breaks rather than mends， in the history of her parents and their violent childhoods。 As she delves into a history of heartbreak--through science， medicine， and literature--and chronicles the uneasy yet ultimately tender bond she forms with her cousin， Blake asks probing questions about justice， faith， inheritance， family， and， most of all， mercy。
Sensitive， singular， and powerful， effortlessly bridging memoir， essay， and legalese， The Uninnocent is a reckoning with the unimaginable， unforgettable， and seemly irredeemable。 With curiosity and vulnerability， Blake unravels a distressed tapestry， finding solace in both its tearing and its mending。
Reviews
Nicky Lewenson
，
The narrative was beautifully written and gave me a chance to learn， think and reflect as it pulled me through the aftermath of this bone chilling crime and then how we as a country handle it。 This is a great book for everyone。 Young or old， parent or child。 The author’s deep dive into heartbreak， the human condition， what it means to move on， faith and mercy is stunning。This book will stick with me for years to come。
Carin
，
The author was in DC， interning at the Children’s Legal Defense Fund on summer break from law school， when her mother called with devastating news: Ms。 Blake’s cousin had murdered a child。 The child was a stranger–riding a bike on a greenway ahead of his mother。 Her mother asked if she’d contribute as the family was raising money for the cousin’s defense， and her immediate reaction was No！ He should go to prison！ Her mother was very offended， after all， this is FAMILY。And it was family。 And she The author was in DC， interning at the Children’s Legal Defense Fund on summer break from law school， when her mother called with devastating news: Ms。 Blake’s cousin had murdered a child。 The child was a stranger–riding a bike on a greenway ahead of his mother。 Her mother asked if she’d contribute as the family was raising money for the cousin’s defense， and her immediate reaction was No！ He should go to prison！ Her mother was very offended， after all， this is FAMILY。And it was family。 And she reached out to her cousin。 And she found out about the case。 And she researched how children （her cousin was 16 at the time） are tried as adult and how and why what came to be。 She also researched cases involving mental breaks and how that is factored in。 It seems like her cousin had a temporary psychotic episode， and otherwise is not psychotic。 She empathizes with the family of the victim。 And she also keeps in touch with her cousin through his trial and prison term。 In law school， she struggles with the law， and luckily Bryan Stevenson speaks to her class and she’s able to ask him questions about her issues。This is not at all what I would consider a true crime book， although it is about a crime， and it’s true。 This is a book of philosophy， legal issues， psychological concerns， family dynamics， morality， and ethics。 It will definitely make you think。 。。。more
Sarah Schulman
，
I wrote a novel， THE CHILD， about a sixteen year old young man who murders a nine year old boy。 It was based on a real case， and in fact the actual person was named Scott。My novel was about the question Blake raises and sticks to， "Why？"Her focus is diagnosis - the mysteries of mental illness， and I was interested in her earned information that a "psychotic break" is an expression of fear。But she never goes to the questions that I felt compelled to explore: The Family and sexuality， and she bar I wrote a novel， THE CHILD， about a sixteen year old young man who murders a nine year old boy。 It was based on a real case， and in fact the actual person was named Scott。My novel was about the question Blake raises and sticks to， "Why？"Her focus is diagnosis - the mysteries of mental illness， and I was interested in her earned information that a "psychotic break" is an expression of fear。But she never goes to the questions that I felt compelled to explore: The Family and sexuality， and she barely examines the political questions of race and gender。In her cousin's statement to the court he tells the world that he was very very troubled for a very long time。 What was really going on in his family， really - and at school and in the neighborhood and why did no one intervene？ His troubles were produced perhaps by biology in part and perhaps by emotional experience perhaps。 There is a social and personal pain that is produced when we （institutions and individuals） do not intervene with families。 -I wish Blake had faced these questions of intervention with depth。Also， she doesn't really explore sexuality- about homosexuality or even pedophilic feelings。 Regarding the political question of race that she mentions in spots by referencing Bryan Stevenson and Dylan Roof， she needed to do a lot more work on this。 Why are these killers white？ Why do white males deal with pain in this external way that women and people of color do not？ I think that the question of punishment is routed in the wishes of the victims- and that is clearly true in her cousin's case。 But there exist victims who do not want to extend the pain。 There are people who want to befriend the person who killed their mother。 Why do victims insist on these kinds of punishments？ That would have been an important avenue for her to examine。 Rory Kennedy （who ironically just spoke out against parole for the 77 year old killer of her father） made a 2002 film The Killing of Wanda Jean about a Black woman who fought to save her daughter's killer from capital punishment because her Christianity made her oppose death penalty。 The solution is really in the hands of the victims， and how they understand themselves。 She could have done so much more here。The other unexplored element is Scott himself。 His life。 What is it？ He remains an enigma。 I know it is important for people to tell their stories， and it may be helpful for someone to think about this question of untreated mental illness and how we as a society should respond to people who kill out of unjustified fear。 And I wish the book had explored that class of people with breath and depth， to help us see it societally。 。。。more
J Earl
，
The Uninnocent: Notes on Violence and Mercy by Katharine Blake offers a wide-ranging examination of our society through the focal point of one crime。 This crime， murder， happened to have been committed by Blake's young cousin， so this portrait is both intimate and societal in its approach。I think each reader will have different takeaways from this book， which I believe is a good thing。 How close the reader has ever been to a similar situation， the specific areas of interest for a reader of this The Uninnocent: Notes on Violence and Mercy by Katharine Blake offers a wide-ranging examination of our society through the focal point of one crime。 This crime， murder， happened to have been committed by Blake's young cousin， so this portrait is both intimate and societal in its approach。I think each reader will have different takeaways from this book， which I believe is a good thing。 How close the reader has ever been to a similar situation， the specific areas of interest for a reader of this type of book （legal concepts， mental health， grieving the loss of a child （by death or prison）， ethics， and where all of these things can come together in the form of public policy。In the process of asking and even answering so many questions Blake raises so many more， mostly about what we can do to make our world， our society， better for more people。 Is that her primary goal here？ I don't think so but I also think she wants to engage as wide a swath of the public as possible so she examines everything with the knowledge that most of the answers will be partial answers at best。 Yet that can serve as a starting point for others who might have ideas on improving society。The other way I read this book， aside from my normal tendency to wonder what we could do better， was as a person's， and by extension a family's， journey through such a traumatic experience。 So many times I tried to imagine how I would have felt or what I might have done。 But with only a few exceptions I was stymied because our response to most things are filtered through different ways of engaging。 What is legally "right？" What does my moral or ethical belief system say？ What is my initial gut feeling？ And how， as I travel through the various stages I would pass through， are these systems of thought altered by my mental and emotional state？ These are questions I came away pondering。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
James Beggarly
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