A Saint on Death Row (15 page)

∗
Shaver's pronouncement has been reported in slightly different words by others (see p. 27) but the import is always the same.

I am grateful to many, many people who were helpful to me in the writing of this book, most especially to Sheila Murphy and Andrew Lofthouse, without whom I could not have written much of anything, but also to Jessica Tanksley and David Atwood, both of whose cooperation was invaluable in creating an accurate account. Besides Jessica and David, a number of Houstonians supplied me with important material and insights, among these Dominique's mother, Stephanie, his brothers, Hollingsworth and Marlon—now a sergeant in the U.S. Army, whom I interviewed in Anchorage prior to his second tour of duty in Iraq—and Sylvia Gonzales. Mary C. Schneider, a sympathetic psychologist who interviewed Dominique extensively, was generous with her time and insights, as was Pat Lofthouse with copies of the videotaped interviews she had made of Dominique and of relevant figures in his case.
Gerald Kelly offered me his gracious hospitality at Maryknoll House; and my wife Susan Cahill, Bennett Ashley, Lynn Franklin, Walter Long, Mario Marazziti, James Morris, Michael Smith, Donald Spoto, and Brigid Wolff all read early drafts of the manuscript and offered exceedingly useful criticism. I could not have managed without the marvelous assistance of Sarah C. Palmer, whose research abilities quite surpass my own. As with all my books, there stands behind this one a large cast of essential dramatis personae: Nan A. Talese (always in first place) and her staff, Doubleday's publisher Stephen Rubin, Kathy Trager, Emily Mahon, Jessie Bright, John Pitts, Nora Reichard, Trent Duffy, the incomparable Jennifer Marshall, and the members of the sales force, without whose enthusiasm no author can hope to reach his intended readers. Nor can I omit mention of my preternaturally astute literary agent Lynn Nesbit and her able colleagues.

I would also like to thank Ivan Cantu, Kenneth Foster Jr., Howard Guidry, and Son Tran for permission to reprint excerpts from their writings. Dominique J. Green, before his death, turned over to me copies of all his writings with a view to my using them as I wished to tell his story.

THOMAS CAHILL is the author of five volumes in the Hinges of History series:
How the Irish Saved Civilization, The Gifts of the Jews, Desire of the Everlasting Hills, Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea
, and
Mysteries of the Middle Ages.
They have been best-sellers, not only in the United States but also in countries ranging from Italy to Brazil. He and his wife, Susan, also a writer, divide their time between New York City and Rome.

Copyright © 2009 by Thomas Cahill

All Rights Reserved

Published in the United States by Nan A. Talese, an imprint of
The Doubleday Publishing Group, a division
of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.nanatalese.com

DOUBLEDAY is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cahill, Thomas.
A saint on death row: the story of Dominique Green /
Thomas Cahill. — 1st ed. p. cm.
1. Green, Dominique, 1974-2004. 2. Death row inmates—Texas—Biography.
I. Title.
HV8701.G74C34 2009
364.66092—dc22
[B]
2008036329

eISBN: 978-0-385-53015-6

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