Lawrence Wright — at Redemption: Faith, Justice, and Sisterhood on Death Row - with Glenn Frankel — at Conn Ave
Lawrence Wright discusses *Redemption: Faith, Justice, and Sisterhood on Death Row*, his account of the remarkable relationship between cloistered nuns and women condemned to death in Texas. The conversation examines crime, punishment, faith, retribution, guilt, innocence, and the possibility of spiritual redemption.
The book traces the events that began in fall 2014, when Deacon Ronnie Lastovica visited the women’s death-row unit at a prison in Gatesville, Texas. After deciding to return each week, he enlisted the Sisters of Mary Morning Star, contemplative nuns from Waco, to accompany him. Wright explores the daily lives, personal histories, and crimes of the seven condemned women, while also investigating troubling questions about police misconduct, flawed forensic methods, and whether some of the women were wrongly convicted.
Wright will appear in conversation with Glenn Frankel.
When: Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 7:00pm
Venue: Politics and Prose at 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, 5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Tickets: Free admission; seating is first come, first served.
Featured speaker: Lawrence Wright is a staff writer for *The New Yorker*, as well as a playwright, screenwriter, and nonfiction author. His books include *The Looming Tower*, *Going Clear*, and *God Save Texas*, and he has also written the novels *The Human Scale*, *Mr. Texas*, *The End of October*, and *God’s Favorite*. He won the Pulitzer Prize for *The Looming Tower* and lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife.
Conversation partner: Glenn Frankel is a former *Washington Post* journalist who served as bureau chief in Richmond, London, Southern Africa, and Jerusalem, where he won a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. He has taught journalism at Stanford University and the University of Texas at Austin, where he directed the School of Journalism. Frankel is the author of five books, a National Jewish Book Award recipient, and a former Motion Picture Academy film scholar.
Featured book: *Redemption: Faith, Justice, and Sisterhood on Death Row* by Lawrence Wright is available in hardcover for $35.00. It was published October 20, 2026, and has ISBN 9780593805084.
Accessibility: To request accommodations or ask about accessibility, email events@politics-prose.com. The venue recommends contacting the bookstore ideally one week before the event, though it will make efforts to accommodate requests up to the event time.