Cahill is a religious scholar, but he covers more than religion in the book. As the Christian Science Monitor review says:

Cahill’s moving tale shines a sharp light on a negligent and flawed justice system, and on a state that uses the death penalty far beyond any other. Texas has executed at least 425 people since the penalty was reinstated in 1976, while the next highest state, Virgina, has executed 102.

Yet Green’s story is also a stand-in for thousands, perhaps millions, of other American youths who get into trouble because they were raised in poor and abusive environments, and whose potential is often snuffed out.

While Green’s innocence was never established, Cahill says the most important question is, “Did he receive a fair trial?” The narrative leaves little doubt that answer is “no.”

The takeaway from the book, says the Monitor:

What stands out most, though, is the incredible price society pays for indifference – indifference to the needs of children, to flagrantly unjust systems, and to youths, often victims of abuse themselves, who are locked up and forgotten.