Witness to a Prosecution

One corrections officer, named Fred Allen, who was part of the tie-down team, talks about his own mental breakdown attributed to taking part in too many executions, 130 by his count.

I was just working in the shop and all of a sudden something just triggered in me and I started shakingà.I just thought about that execution that I did two days agoàand what it was, was something triggered within and àall these executions all of a sudden all sprung forward (Witness to an Execution Transcript.

Warden Jim Willett, who has overseen about 75 executions, remarks that he worries about his staff. He says that he is retiring soon and the executions are something he won't miss. "There are times when I'm standing there, watching those fluids start to flow, and wonder whether what we're doing here is right. It's something I'll be thinking about for the rest of my life" (Witness to an Execution Transcript).

These remarks come at the conclusion of the documentary, leaving the listener with a variety of f

. . .
while it is not a direct part of the documentary, it most likely provided background for the producers to work with. Following Glass' narrative structure, Warden Willett provides general information including the condemned inmate's schedule prior to the executionùhis last meal and so forth. Then, in an informal tone, he informs the listener, "I'm gonna start our story where the execution process really begins" (Witness to an Execution Transcript). As principal narrator, Willett provides the timeline that informs the documentary. "At five minutes to six, I'm sitting in my office. I get up from my chair, put on my jacket, and walk back to the death house. At this time the inmate is in his cell, talking with the prison's chaplain, Jim Brazzil." Then Brazzil relates some of his previous experiences, followed by Willett saying, "One of my supervisors will get a call at 6:00 from the governor's officeà." (Witness Transcript). And then to Brazzil's voice, then back to Willett, and then to Kenneth Dean, a member of the tie-down team that handles the individual straps to tie down the inmate to secure him to the gurney so "he won't be jumping up, and he won't be able to squirm out of the restraints themselves, and that the job can be don
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Witness Transcript, Witness Execution, Warden Willett, Radio's Considered, Execution Transcript, War II, Jim Brazzil, Jim Willett, Guide Glass, Interspersed Fitzgerald's, witness transcript, witness execution, capital punishment, death house, witness execution transcript, execution transcript, tie-down team, willett provides, jim willett, audio documentaries, warden jim, warden jim willett, chaplain jim brazzil, allowed five witnesses, york times magazine,
Approximate Word count = 1973
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Witness to a Prosecution