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How people on death row act on the day of their execution

According to some Death Row people I have corresponded with, people are generally quiet and perhaps reflective on their final day.




They know exactly how the day will end for them, and they know (in virtually every case) that there is no possibility of reprieve or postponement. They have had plenty of time to write final letters or notes or poems or anything else, so there is no hurried scribbling.

There are no maudlin farewells and forgivenesses or confessions. No wailing or crying all day. No pronouncing curses, no swearing, no angry outbursts, no complaints about unfairness or innocence. Generally, no conversations except perhaps with a priest or other religious figure.

While every person approaches his execution in his own way, people generally are stoic about it. Some read a Bible or other holy book. Some pray, generally silently. No one tries to be humorous or heroic or memorable. They just wait, patiently, for the end to approach.

There are of course the B-movie depictions of prisoners led to their death screaming or crying or begging, or of people passing out or going limp and having to be dragged. All of that, I have been told by those who watch prisoners go to their death, is Hollywood hokum. People on Death Row have had plenty of time to adjust to their upcoming death, and for many it is something of a relief that the waiting is almost over.

One might suppose that an inmate who has committed very severe or very many crimes, and who believes in Heaven and Hell, would be fearful of his approaching punishment. Evidently that is not so. Consider, as we have all seen, the officers about to be hanged for war crimes, or the director of the Auschwitz concentration camp on the gallows. Those men all were cooperative and stoic and silent, allowing themselves to be executed without resistance or objection. So it is, I am told, for even the most extreme criminals in prison.

And yes, I have read the stories about John Wayne Gacy crying like a baby before his execution. But that is an urban myth. He was unrepentant, to the very last. His actual execution (by lethal injection) was botched, by a clogged tube, delaying the procedure by at least ten minutes. Gary made no objections, but waited quietly for the procedure to be re-started. Instead of crying, his last words were “Kiss my ass”.

“They say” are the opening words of many stories of condemned men swearing at guards, fighting or resisting, breaking down emotionally, vomiting, soiling their pants (though they actually are wearing adult diapers), and other dramatic acts near the end. Impressive Gee Whiz tales, but all untrue. When they know that all the fights and appeals and requests for clemency are all over, they just wait quietly for their turn to die.


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