It is my hope and my belief that you will be able to report that I died with dignity, without animal fear and without bravado. I owe that much to myself.

". His memoirs became bestsellers and ignited a worldwide movement to spare his life while focusing attention on the politics of the death penalty in the United States at a time when most Western countries had already abandoned it or were in the process of doing so. He is also referenced in the Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota unedited song "Un tal Bridgitte Barlot".

Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27 1921 – May 2 1960) was a convicted robber and rapist who gained fame as a death row inmate in California.