December 6, 2007
Lethal Injection Turns Twenty Five
This Friday marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first execution by lethal injection in the United States. Naturally, Texas, along with the city of Huntsville -- sometimes referred to as the "execution capital of the world"-- took this honor.
With executions effectively on hold in Texas while the U.S. Supreme Court determines whether or not lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and hence unconstitutional, we can't think of a more appropriate time for a closer examination of this polarizing subject. Bill Crawford, the Austin-based author behind Texas Death Row, hopes people will take an uncomfortably close look with him.
He's hosting a panel discussion and exhibition at Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville to coincide with the 25th anniversary. The discussion will include proponents from both sides of the debate, all of whom have witnessed executions. The exhibit centers on the mugshots of all 405 inmates executed in Texas by lethal injection along with other items of note, including the personal bible of longtime death house chaplain Jim Brazzill.
Until a few days ago, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice refused to include Brazzill's book, which was signed by Karla Faye Tucker and many others just before their executions, in the exhibit, despite its clear significance. Without explanation, TDCJ recently reversed their decision.
The featured panelists know the death penalty intimately:
Associated Press reporter Michael Gracyzk has viewed over 300 executions during his career as a journalist and adamantly states that it has had no effect on him.
Former Public Information Manager with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Larry Fitzgerald describes it as "the ultimate bureaucratic action"; he has witnessed more than 200 executions.
Texas State Prison Museum director and former warden of the Walls Unit (death row) Jim Willett has witnessed 89
Paula Kurland, a victims’ rights advocate, has witnessed one. She met with and then watched the execution of offender #160, Jonathan Wayne Nobles, who murdered her daughter.
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