| September 25, 2006 |
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Last Statements
The  Texas Department of Criminal Justice has posted to the Web the records of prisoners who have been put to death since December 7, 1982. The department lists each inmate's first and last name, his age, his race, the county he's from, and the date he was killed. It also includes, when available, facsimiles of the execution orders (including a photo and a description of the crime) and each man's last statement. Even in this age of ceaseless online documentation, it is astonishing—and sobering—to see the last words collected here. Some of the inmates decline to make statements, but most take the moment to express something—regret, or sorrow, or acceptance. Proclamations of innocence, admissions of guilt, accounts of injustice, and, on one occasion, a surprising dash of humor are all recorded and later uploaded to the site where they remain, the final words of each man's life. (in Crime) |
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