Execution Rituals

I have never been witness to an execution, and quite frankly I never want to be. If I had it my way the death penalty would be abolished. But I noticed that the following day after an execution, it's in all the media. All the little details about who attended, what the condemned said as his "final last words," what he ate as his "last meal." How the witnesses were pressed against the glass as the condemned took his last breath.

There are certain rituals that occur with an execution. These rituals have to be broken before we can ever hope to abolish the death penalty. By allowing these rituals to take place, we are allowing the death sentence to take place. It breeds acceptance. If these rituals were suddenly viewed as taboo, maybe then will the people of America see that the death penalty is also taboo.

Let's begin with the last meal. Why would they offer a last meal to a man who is about to be executed? To give him a last meal of his choice, nurturing food, to only take his life away doesn't make any sense at all. "How polite they were to offer him a meal of his choice." Is this what they expect the public to say? And where did this ritual originate? With the Last Meal of Christ before his crucifixion?

Next are the final last words. The condemned has been sitting in a living hell for many years already, thinking about what he has done, or that he never committed the crime. Why does anyone want to hear what he has to say now? By now it's all been said. It's just another ritual. He is expected to say something. An apology, a final good-bye to his family and friends, or maybe a thank you to the correctional officers for his upkeep. The media is hoping for something out of the ordinary. It sells papers, it sells viewers.

I suppose they got their fill when condemned serial killer Danny Rolling, executed by lethal injection on October 25, 2006, by the state of Florida, when asked if he had anything to say, began singing a song, that he most likely wrote himself out loud to the witnesses. Now, this is the first time I have heard of this. He surely gave them something to talk about. This time it was the inmate who participated in this execution ritual.

When convicted killer Gregory Lynn Summers, executed by the state of Texas also on October 25, 2006, was asked if he had any final words, he declined. However three of his friends each dressed with a pink shirt and black pants attended the execution. The attire of the three was something to talk about. They too, participated in the execution ritual.

Another execution ritual, is walking to one's execution. Why would anyone want to willingly walk to their own death fate? It's making a statement that they are participating, accepting their own execution. If the inmates are accepting their own executions, it makes it hard for the public not to.

I hope that this is not the newest trend in execution rituals, making the execution stand out amongst the rest. Maybe they see it as a protest? That the execution will get publicity? The execution is already going to get publicity; we don't need for people to sensationalize it. We need for people to stop participating in these execution rituals. We need to change the way people view executions. We need for executions to be seen as taboo.