The Green Mile by Stephen King
Published by Orion

A thriller which explores capital punishment through the eyes of a superintendent at Cold Mountain Penitentiary.   His job is to prepare condemned prisoners to walk the "Green Mile" to sit in Old Sparky.  Paul writes his reminiscences from his own kind of prison, the old folks home where he ends up.  John Coffey, a great giant of a man, was sentenced for raping and murdering two white girls, a crime of horrific proportion.   But how do these crimes fit with the man who is scared of the dark and has healing powers?   King explores good and evil, innocence and guilt, and basic human relationships in that special time before condemned men meet with their Maker, through gruesome means.   A book which stays with you long after you've read it!