I was watching Monster’s Ball last night and was wondering how the witnesses to an execution are chosen. I know a few of them are reporters but are all the rest of them the victims family?
I tried to Google but I got a million pages of articles and books written by witnesses to executions and such.
Thanks.
Monica
From what I understand, they are usually members of the victim’s family and members of the press corps.
Zev Steinhardt
The Warden has to divide up the available space from a mountain of requests. Generally it’s media, victim’s family and “guests” of the person to be executed. Often the “guests” are separated from the family of the victim by a physical barrier.
Haj
I should add the the people chosen by the person to be executed are his family members and/or a clergy member.
Haj
Thanks guys, I was a little afraid that witnesses were chosen like members of the jury… If you live in a state that has capital punishment, then you got a little slip in the mail telling you that you had to show up and watch someone get killed.
What happens if there are no volunteers to watch the execution - for instance, the press is simply not interested for whatever reason and the person being executed has no family and has requested that no clergy or lawyer attend the execution? Do they ever make people attend or is the presence of the executioners and their testimony that the execution did in fact take place enough to satisfy the public?
In that case the vicitm(s) family might be interested in attending.
Sounds wierd, but some people are witnesses as members of study groups. To determine if executions are moral (cruel and inhumane) and/or to gather information about the mental states of people who witness the executions.
If no-one wanted to come, the warden and prison execution team members would be the witnesses.
I don’t think we have a witness requirement, do we? Except to insure that we don’t torture someone, of course.