Based on the case of Alvin Ford, an American death row inmate, this thought-provoking book focuses on the issues raised when the criminal justice system attempts to apply the death penalty to the mentally impaired.

Issues addressed include: the definition of mental illness for the purposes of exemption from execution, the evaluation of competence for execution by mental health professionals, the consequences of disagreements among health professionals about a defendant's mental status, and the fate of prisoners who are exempted. Ford's unique case leads the authors to examine more general issues such as the involvement of health professionals in modern capital sentencing, as well as the administration of the death penalty in the United States today.