A special presentation of the TV program "Prime Time" chronicles the
last few days in the life of Antonio James, a prisoner on death row at
Angola state prison in Louisiana. It was filmed inside the prison on
death row itself. To those who have never been in prison or seen the
conditions on death row, it gives a good view of what life is like for
us who are on the row.

The viewers are shown the inmates’ daily life inside his 7’ x 9’ cell.
We see the boredom and the repetitive nature of a condemned man’s
solitary existence on the row. It is curious that what we don’t see
inside his cell are all those amenities that our conservative lawmakers
claim are making life too comfortable for us convicts. Such items as
color TVs, big stereos, fans and the like are conspicuously absent. What
we do see is a man who is dying a little bit more each day. We see him
sleep, wake, eat, pace the floor and play solitaire. A lonely and
troubled individual.

Antonio James contends that he was not the triggerman, but under the law
this doesn’t matter. If in the commission of a felony someone is killed,
this qualifies you for the death penalty. If you are poor, ill- educated
and have no connections, you will be given a court-appointed attorney to
represent you. Usually this trial attorney is a young and inexperienced
person.  This will usually guarantee  that you will wind up on the row.
You don’t find rich people on death row, and this is not because they do
not kill others, rather they have the resources to afford a quality
defense team to represent them. It is supposed to be the case that the
law reserves the death penalty for 'the worst of the worst', but in
reality this is not so. Even the warden acknowledges that there are
worse individuals in the prison population than most of those on the
row. This is just another hypocritical aspect of the death penalty. For
instance, one case here in Arizona. Nine Buddhists were killed during a
robbery in a temple by two men. These two men each received a life
sentence. They executed seven monks and two lay persons and did not get
the death penalty. What does this say about the freakish way the death
penalty is applied?

Antonio’s lawyer is shown as a real fighter. His appeal to the state
supreme court is denied. Next we see what goes on at the pardon board.
Members of the victim’s family are angry and opposed to any commutation
of the death sentence. They remind the board that it was the jury’s duty
to convict and sentence Antonio and not the board. The defense team
portrays Antonio as a changed man worthy of a second chance. Eventually
he is turned down by a 3-2 vote.

The anger of the general public is obvious. Callers into a radio talk
show complain that they are tired of having to pay for all these
proceedings, and another states that that there are numerous trees in
Louisiana that can be used to hang Antonio James. Statistics tell us
that 74% of the public support the death penalty. Many also feel that
lethal injection is too easy and doesn’t provide pain and suffering. The
warden is asked about this and recites the fact that he believes that we
cannot gauge the amount of pain that results from the anticipation of
dying, the waiting, the walk to the death chamber, being strapped onto
the execution table and the insertion of the IV needle into the arm then
the waiting for the poison to flow into your body through the tubes.

The warden and his crew rehearse all the steps from the death cell to
the execution chamber. The cuffing, shackling, walking and strapping
onto the table. The guards are told not to look into the eyes of the
condemned at the time of the execution because that makes it harder.
The warden has come to like Antonio but knows that he has to give the
word to the executioner to inject the poison. He doesn’t envy anyone
walking in his shoes. He says that Antonio is not now a dangerous man.
That the twelve years on the row have changed Antonio, but the public
cares little about this fact.

We are allowed to witness Antonio along with the warden and a few others
as he eats his last meal. He was allowed to visit with his family
beforehand. This is touching. One of the few humanitarian aspects of the
entire procedure. Antonio’s son takes the watch off his father’s arm as
a keepsake. It is the only thing he has to give. They leave and we next
see them outside the prison gates where two groups have formed. A small
group who are against the death penalty and a larger group who are vocal
and in favor of the death penalty. The anger and bitterness of this
group cannot be concealed. When word comes that Antonio James has been
executed, tears and cheers reign.

"Countdown to Midnight" took an even-handed approach to this
documentary. The hard part comes to those who are suffering under the
death penalty and those who are opposed to it because it clearly reminds
us all that three quarters of the American people strongly support the
state-sanctioned killing of our citizens and loudly applaud it. My only
hope is that through such exhibits of our inhumanity towards each other
that a few more people will change their opinion and stand against this
killing, becoming abolitionists. The reality about this situation of
executions is summed up by the warden who said - 'The dog barks and the
caravan keeps rolling across the endless desert. So is life.'

       .............................................

Richard Rossi