24 Hours To An Execution

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government-sanctioned practice whereby a person is killed by the state as a punishment for a crime. The sentence that someone be punished in such a manner is referred to as a death sentence, whereas the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution.

In the United States, electrocution and gas inhalation were introduced as more humane alternatives to hanging, but have been almost entirely superseded by lethal injection. Here’s a look at the last 24 hours of an inmate on death row, before being administered the lethal injection.

24 to 12 hours prior to execution :

1. The condemned inmate’s cell is moved to the pre-execution cell.

2. Visiting and telephone privileges are provided to the inmate on the day prior to execution.

3. The condemned inmate’s religious representatives and attorney are allowed visiting privileges in the final 24 hours.

4. The Food Services Director shall contact the condemned to make arrangements for the final meal.

(The Final Meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. Various countries have various traditions in this regard. The food for the final meal must be purchased locally and has a certain cost limit which varies worldwide.

Steven Woods was executed in 2011 at the Texas State Prison for the murder of a young couple. For his last meal, he requested for Two pounds of bacon, a large four-meat pizza, four fried chicken breasts, two drinks each of Mountain Dew, Pepsi, root beer, and sweet tea, two pints of ice cream, five chicken fried steaks, two hamburgers with bacon, fries, and a dozen garlic bread sticks with marinara on the side.

On the contrary, Robert Anthony Buell requested for a single black unpitted olive as his last meal. He was executed at Ohio State Prison on account of the rape and murder of a 11- year old girl.)

12 to 6 hours before execution :

1. The Final Meal is served between 1700 and 2000 hrs.

2. The equipment for the execution is inventoried and tested.

3. After the final meal, the condemned is escorted back to his pre-execution cell. He is kept under constant observation. Sleep doesn’t come easy when you know what you’re going to wake up to. Most inmates stay up all night, trying to accept the fate they await.

6 to 3 hours prior to execution :

1. The drugs used in lethal injection are picked and prepped. The syringes are prepared by the pharmacist.

3 hours to 30 minutes prior to execution :

1. The warden opens a line with the Attorney General’s office to determine the status of execution. Beyond this point, the line stays active and is continued to be monitored by the warden.

(This is important because a stay of execution is often sought to defer the execution of the convicted person. This may occur if new evidence is found that exonerate* the convicted person. One example of a stay of execution in the death penalty context was the James Autry case. Autry was already strapped down to the execution table in Texas on October 4, 1983 when the order came to stop the execution. This order comes from the Attorney General’s office. The inmate’s lawyers work right until the last minute in a bid to attain a stay of execution.)

Final 29 minutes prior to execution :

1. The condemned is escorted from the holding cell to the execution site by the Tie-Down team.

2. At the execution site, he/she is tied down to a gurney.

The Execution :

1. The warden will address the condemned with a pre-prepared statement to include: a. Official name of condemned, time and place to carry out the order of the court. b. The inmate’s desire to make a last statement. The inmate’s statement should not exceed two minutes.

2. Following the instruction from the warden to execute the condemned inmate, the executioner immediately proceeds with the execution.