Beat the rise! Delivery fees are going up soon. INFO

Close Notification

Your cart does not contain any items

The Suffocation of Hope

The 2025 Writings

Jeff Hood

$80.95   $68.54

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

QTY:

English
New Theology School Press
22 March 2026
What does it mean to stand at the edge of death...and refuse to look away?

In The Suffocation of Hope, Jeff Hood delivers a searing, unfiltered account of a year spent confronting the brutal realities of the American death penalty. These writings are not distant reflections or abstract arguments-they are eyewitness testimony. They are born from execution chambers, prison cells, and the sacred, often unbearable space between justice and mercy.

Through a powerful blend of narrative, theology, and prophetic resistance, Hood invites readers into a world most never see. A world where human beings are strapped to gurneys. Where new methods of execution-like nitrogen hypoxia-are refined. Where the line between law and morality begins to collapse.

But this is not just a book about death.

It is a book about hope under suffocation.

Across essays, prayers, and meditations, Hood wrestles with the deepest questions of faith and justice:

Can a society claim moral authority while practicing execution? Where is God in the machinery of death? Is redemption possible-for the condemned, and for those who condemn?

From Advent reflections to firsthand accounts of executions...from theological explorations of universal salvation to urgent calls for abolition...these writings move between rage and grace, despair and defiance, grief and unyielding love.

You will encounter:

Intimate portraits of men and women on death row Bold critiques of the criminal justice system Radical theological reflections on mercy, judgment, and salvation A prophetic voice calling the Church-and the world-to wake up

Hood does not ask for comfort. He asks for courage.

This book is for those willing to confront what is done in their name...and to imagine something different.

Because even in the shadow of the execution chamber, one truth refuses to die:

Love will have the final word.
By:  
Imprint:   New Theology School Press
Volume:   12
Dimensions:   Height: 216mm,  Width: 140mm,  Spine: 41mm
Weight:   830g
ISBN:   9798233308574
Series:   The Writings of Jeff Hood
Pages:   730
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood is a Catholic Priest (Old Catholic) and nationally recognized theologian and spiritual advisor to death row inmates nationwide. He has accompanied eleven men to their executions, including the first and eighth nitrogen hypoxia executions. Widely regarded as the leading spiritual voice on the death penalty, his work has been profiled in outlets ranging from the New York Times to a Rolling Stone documentary, The Spiritual Advisor. For his service and scholarship, he was nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Hood holds degrees from Auburn University (BA), Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv), Emory University's Candler School of Theology (ThM), the University of Alabama (MA), Creighton University (MS), Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University (DMin), and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the American Institute of Metaphysics. His primary interest has always been the power of spirituality to bring about liberation. Ordained to ministry in 2006, Dr. Hood was incardinated into the priesthood of the Old Catholic Church in 2022. The author of over 100 books - including The Courage to Be Queer, named one of the best religion books of 2016 at the Independent Publishers Book Awards - he regularly partners with men on death row to co-produce original works of theology. On July 7, 2016, Dr. Hood organized and led a Dallas rally against police brutality that ended in the shooting deaths of five police officers. He saved lives by using the cross he was carrying to force people away from the gunfire. The Dallas Public Library honored his role in that event and his wider work by opening the Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood Collection in its archives. In January 2024, Dr. Hood became the first spiritual advisor present in an execution chamber for a nitrogen hypoxia execution. Amid the international media attention that followed, he kept the memory of Kenneth Smith at the center of the story while demanding that such an execution never be repeated. No other spiritual advisor in the country has been present in the execution chamber for as many executions. Believing that traditional theological education is increasingly inadequate, Dr. Hood founded The New Theology School, where he serves as Dean and as the Rev. Charles Moore Professor of Prophetic Theology. With many arrests and assaults, he is not afraid to give his body to the struggle for justice.

See Also