in the timeframe of the participants in the execution. By recounting the events on a minute-to-minute basis, the listener can relate to what the guards, witnesses, medical team and inmate are going through on a more intimate level. Events are not only described, but are commented upon by multiple narrators, and this allows the listener to experience a little of what it is like working in the death house and preparing for an execution.
The narrative structure employed by producers David Isay and Stacy Abramson follows the audio documentary format described by Ira Glass in Radio: An Illustrated Guide. Glass contends that because radio is a different medium than film, it is ônot enough to tell a story. You also have to explain what it meansö since there is no visual component (p. 6). As a didactic medium, radio documentaries are designed to teach as well as inform and entertain. Therefore, Glass asserts that it is important for audio documentaries to supply anecdotes, followed by reflections upon the actions and events described.
Witness to an Execution follows this structure. The documentary begins with an introduction that features Warden Jim Willett, the main narrator of the show. Willett provides the listener with background information and then turns the show over to Chaplain Jim Brazzil who provides an anecdote and reflection, and so forth. Following GlassesÆ template, there is an anecdote or sequence of actions where someone says this happened, then this happened and so on, and then a moment of reflection on the meaning of the sequence, and then on to the next set of actions. The structure is essentially oral storytelling utilizing the pattern of
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