In the gruesome business of executing people, there are specific rules
that are followed step by step according to an official Execution
Protocol. The policy is restricted and secret. Prisoners can not know
how they are going to be executed. Nothing is to be added or deleted
from the official protocol. At least that is the way it is supposed to
be. There are certain procedures that go into effect almost immediately
after the condemned person receives his execution warrant. The warrants
are usually dated 35 days before the event. The first thing that occurs
is that you receive a copy of the execution warrant from the warden or
his designee. Then you are given various other forms to fill out. These
include: Last Meal Request; Execution Witness List; Application to the
Board of Executive Clemency; Method of Execution; Disposal of Property;
Disposal of Remains; Last Will & Testament.

When the condemned person reaches 14 days before the execution date he
or she is moved to a death watch cell for observation. Practically no
property is allowed while you are on death watch. When we were at CB6
(before the move to Eyman in 1997) an officer was posted outside your
cell for 24 hours a day. Your every move is recorded on a clip board.
The object of this is to prevent you from committing suicide and thus
cheat the state out of its ritual of execution. When your time runs down
to 48 hours before the event, you are moved to the holding cell of the
death house at the Central Unit.

In September 1997 all of death row was moved from CB6 to the Special
Management Unit II at Eyman complex. The protocol remained the same. At
the 14 day point, you were still transported back to CB6 to the
observation cell. This procedure continued until last month.

One morning we were awakened by the sound of inmates being moved. All 10
prisoners in pod number 2 were being moved. Before you knew it, all 10
were gone and the pod was completely empty. A few mornings later heavy
construction was going on. Sparks were flying, drills were whining and
hammers were banging. This racket went on for days. No one could figure
out what was happening. Curiosity can drive you mad around here. One can
compare this situation to that of animals in a zoo. The animals are
always very anxious about any changes in their cages and surrounding
environment. Especially when it is not possible to see what is
occurring. It was not until 14 days before a scheduled execution that we
figured out what was taking place. They moved the condemned man into the
empty pod number 2, which was now going to be used as the death watch
cell instead of transporting the prisoner back to CB6. Video cameras had
been installed - one outside the cells and another in the exercise room.
A TV monitor and VCR were installed in the guard tower. Now every move
could be observed and simultaneously recorded on video tape. Twenty four
hours a day.

When you are in the observation cell you have no property. Each morning
you are given an orange jump suit and your bed linens are collected.
Your cell is searched and you begin your day. In the evening, you
surrender your jump suit and you are given new bed linens. All this is
done so that you do not hang yourself. You are allowed one sheet of
paper to write on and a 3 inch pencil. To get another sheet of paper you
must surrender the sheet of paper you have. This is bizarre. I know of
no method of committing suicide with a piece of paper. It is futile to
try to make sense out of these rituals. Needless to say it is difficult
to write farewell letters under such circumstances.

It was curious to watch the officers turn into predators as they
participated in these activities. It started when construction work was
under way to transform pod number 2 into the observation pod. The
officers were running around like busy bees tending the hive. They were
so happy to be able to contribute toward the preparations to kill
another human being. They were humming and singing. Actually falling
over themselves in the process. I asked one of the officers how they
could afford to leave 10 cells empty with the remaining 110 cells filled
to capacity and at least four new men were on their way to the row from
recent death sentences. He smiled at me and in a boastful manner said
that there was no problem. 'That a new day had dawned because they were
going to be despatching a whole lot of us old timers to the death house
shortly.' I see all of this as a sickness. There is such perverse
pleasure derived on the part of these officers in the anticipation of
executing us. Nothing will ever change in their eyes. We will forever be
considered scum by our keepers. Life on the row is difficult and
depressing enough without being confronted by the undercurrent of such
hostility. The ritual itself takes its toll on you. It is designed to be
a constant reminder that the state does not forget and it will have all
of the suffering and pain it can get out of us before killing us.
 

It appears as if the Eighth Amendment against 'cruel and unusual'
punishment does not apply anymore. When a person is allowed to suffer
two sentences for a crime, one must wonder. Most murderers who do not
get the death penalty are given sentences of 25 years to life. Usually
after the 25 years in prison the gates are opened and they go free.
Whereas a death row inmate’s sentence can be delayed for 20 to 25 years
whereupon execution still follows. No consideration is given to the
additional life sentence that may have been served. Instead of taking
this additional punishment into consideration at an executive clemency
hearing, the state and the victim’s family cry foul, arguing that it is
the prisoner who is responsible for any delay after manipulating and
cheating the public in order to stay alive. In reality it is the
public’s own state courts that cause these long delays in the process of
trying to undo their faulty rulings and unjust sentences.

This is not to say that the victims are not entitled to procure
punishment of an offender for a murder, but to mete out double
punishment must be considered 'cruel and unusual'. What legitimate
penological purpose is served by executing an individual after he or she
has already served a life sentence? Where is the written rule of law
permitting such suffering? When a person serves a life sentence in
general population the life style is completely different. You have many
liberties and privileges. You can have a structured life, being out of
your cell for most of the time. You can walk around, have contact
visits, you have more personal property. You can have a job. All of
these are not allowed for death row. We are in solitary confinement.
Locked in our cages for 23½ hours a day. This is the hardest time to do.
It is long and cruel. A life sentence served on death row equals 2 - 3
life sentences in general population.

Although delaying executions for decades is not written in the law, nor
considered by the clemency board or the public as being a legitimate
mitigating factor at the clemency hearing prior to execution, the
suffering involved cannot be denied. It certainly is part of an
unwritten execution protocol that imposes as much pain, suffering and
revenge as possible on the condemned prisoner. Regardless of the fact
that the judge never imposed this additional punishment, we are
certainly made to endure it. I guess the proverbial 'pound of flesh' is
no longer sufficient payment for one’s atonement. All we have left to
give is our life. What more can we give? What more do they want? The
protocol needs to be changed and the madness must stop.

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

Richard Rossi 50337
ASPC - Eyman, G.42
P.O. Box 3400
FLORENCE, AZ. 85232