Reasons why death row prisoners executed at Midnight
I used to wonder why executions were held at or as close to midnight on the date of the death warrant. I did some research awhile back and spoke to several corrections officers and one warden.
Executions are very difficult emotionally on prison personnel and the other prisoners in general. They have had time to get to know these people up close and personal—not about their crimes, but their wives, children and family. In short, they have become humanized waiting for their sentences to be carried out and they will be taking part in ending their lives. During the late hours, the prison is quieter, other prisoners are asleep and locked down. A “rehearsal” is conducted the day before an execution so each person will know his or her role in the process. It is a very sad state of affairs when a life is taken after having known the person for years on end.
When a woman is in the holding cell, it is doubly difficult for the prison. If you recall the woman in Texas may years ago who found Jesus as her savior long before her execution date arrived. She was guilty of the crime, but was no longer the person she was when she committed the crime. It is easier for the person being executed as well as the prison staff to conduct executions during the quietest part of the day—between Midnight and 1:00am. I was allowed to witness an execution in Georgia where the convict was on death row for 35 years.
He was still the monster he was when he committed one of the most heinous crimes in Georgia history by killing an entire family in Seminole County, Georgia with several accomplices. He truly deserved his fate, but I was affected by this experience for many years. It was difficult to watch, but having to participate in the actual killing of another human being was not easy on the warden or his deputies. Still, it was a lot less stressful at Midnight than it would have been at 12 Noon. It isn’t easy to watch another human being die by lethal injection, let alone the electric chair. It haunts me still today. Continue reading

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