A law went into effect in South Carolina last year allowing people on death row to choose their method of execution, including by firing squad. Last week, the state supreme court issued a temporary stay on government-sponsored killing, in advance of executions scheduled for April 29 and May 13. As we wait to learn whether […]
execution
Posted inEditor's Pick
They Executed People for the State of South Carolina. For Some, It Nearly Destroyed Them.
“The tools of death could next be electric volts, bullets or a drug cocktail. Regardless of the method, executions are likely to return to South Carolina. When they do, state workers will again be the ones tasked with handling the weapons — and the consequences.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
All That Is Lost and All That Is Remembered
On the 30th anniversary of her Navy captain father’s political execution, Naz Riahi recalls her love for him, and reveals a persistent grief that is always with her.
Posted inHistory, Story
Watching a Fall
The allure and shame of watching America’s last public hanging.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Quotes
The Memoirist’s Dilemma
Fourteen years after her memoir about about her father’s death was released, novelist Aminatta Forna still deals with after-effects, both good and bad.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Another Supreme Court Death Penalty Ruling, Issued 43 Years Ago Today
In a headline-making decision issued earlier today, the Supreme Court ruled against three Oklahoma death row inmates in Glossip v. Gross, upholding the use of a sedative called midazolam for lethal injections. Interestingly, Glossip v. Gross isn’t the first time the court has issued a major death penalty decision on June 29. 43 years ago today, the Supreme Court issued another 5-to-4 […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Emotional Toll of Witnessing 278 Death Row Executions
With each passing year, the act of witnessing executions weighed on Michelle more and more heavily. Larry retired in 2003, and she felt his absence, wishing for the much-needed levity he had always brought to their work. She got married that same year and in 2005 gave birth to her daughter. “I started thinking about […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Emotional Toll of Witnessing 278 Death Row Executions
With each passing year, the act of witnessing executions weighed on Michelle more and more heavily. Larry retired in 2003, and she felt his absence, wishing for the much-needed levity he had always brought to their work. She got married that same year and in 2005 gave birth to her daughter. “I started thinking about […]