“For two months, Scott's provocative and moving photographs lined the walls of the Divinity School's Andover Chapel, providing a stirring, difficult, daily confrontation for our community with a particularly harsh and tragic reality of our country. The photographs provided our community with a steady source of prophetic critique and challenge throughout the academic term. Extraordinarily compelling… a moving exhibit””
      ~ Kerry Maloney, Chaplain of Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Mass.

Upon hearing a talk and presentation by Scott Langley, a Harvard University student commented, “That evening was more important than any other experience I've had at Harvard in my three years here, including my very best course.  This is what I came here to learn."  

"The death penalty remains the most basic of all human rights violations. Scott Langley's photographs are a dramatic reminder of how much work the USA has to accomplish before it can rightfully assume its place in the
community of nations seeking to adhere to international norms in the defense of human rights."
      ~ Rick Halperin, professor and historian, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

“Your photos are accessible to people in real ways & helped to move the class emotionally, another way to reach people.”
      ~ Sarah Weston, student, Boston University, Mass.

“…compelling and such an important element of the death penalty debate.”
      ~ David Legore, Chair, Department of Dramatic Media, Texas Lutheran University

“In the Spring semester 2007, Scott Langley visited UNC Pembroke as our Gustafson Lecturer. His talk combined his own photographs with personal experiences and national statistics in order to paint a vivid image of the death penalty in the United States. Whether the audience agreed with Langley's point of view or not, they were certainly forced to do some difficult thinking about how we treat those convicted of crimes in America. The photographs alone demand that the audience consider spaces, both real and imagined, that our society too often prefers to ignore.  Scott Langley is an excellent speaker and photographer, and his talk stimulated important discussion on our campus. He is exactly the type of speaker colleges should be bringing in.”
      ~ Jesse Peters, Dean, University Honors College, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

It's unanimous-- the students really appreciated your presentation and were struck by your modesty, professionalism, striking photos, confidence and compelling stories and facts.
     ~ Anne Theriault, Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Newton, Mass.

"Students, faculty, and principal were touched, angered, and informed by Mr. Langley's presentation.  Scott's personal connections with the issue of capital punishment, and his wealth of knowledge, came together for one of the most meaningful and moving assemblies we had all year."
      ~ Brad Rothrock, high school teacher, Lynn, Mass.

Post your own reviews and comments:

Pursuing a photo documentary on the death penalty is by far an original idea. Many great photographers have embarked on the journey of photographing everything from death houses to death row prisoners.

Below are links to other death penalty photography works by other photographers in the United States. Their inspiration and trailblazing are an inspiration to this project and to many across the world. Thank you.

• Lou Jones's Portraits of Death Row Prisoners (in his book, "Final Exposure")
• Lucinda Devlin's Omega Series
• Life and Death Row in Texas by Andrew Lichtenstein / Aurora
• Texas Death Row (1995) by Ken Light
• Texas Death Row (1997) by Alan Pogue
• David Leeson's 14 month project on the death penalty for the Dallas Morning News
• Death Penalty Information Center ~ photos of exonerees, many from Lauren Santow

"It would become harder to execute men one after another, as is done in our country today, if those executions were translated into vivid images in the popular imagination."

~ Albert Camus