M U L L I N ’ S

Q   U   A   R   T   E   R   L   Y

VOLUME I, NUMBER I                                                     SPRING 2015

EXECUTION

Among the Contributors

  

Preamble 

EXECUTION ETHICS

By Stafford E. Mullin

“People are good or half good or a quarter good, 

and it changes all the time- but even on the best day nobody's perfect.” 

-Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin 

       As I sat at the metal tables of my local Caviar and Bananas, I found myself constantly tilting my computer screen away from other patrons out of fear they would judge me for browsing about the online Death Penalty Information Center. Until now, I have never felt chills up my spine while conducting scholarly research. There are only so many topics that could induce an eerie and uncanny aura when staring at your monitor, and one of these is execution. The topic is bizarre and terrifying, which makes it all the more intriguing. Similar to the way I felt when looking at the actual faces and names of individuals online who have been executed in my own state, one should feel uncomfortable when immersed in this curation. You may feel as far away from home as possible, anxious, and even a little disturbed from time to time. If you are searching for a blissful experience with a happy ending, you will not find it here.

            If I were to play a word association game and was given the term “French Revolution”, the guillotine immediately comes to mind. The Reign of Terror in France was a time when any and all human threats that might impede the Revolution were executed. Thousands of people were beheaded by the guillotine, including King Louis XVI and his wife Mary Antoinette. The mastermind behind this machine is Dr. Joseph Guillotin. The guillotine essentially is a large heavy blade dropped from a height onto the neck of a very unlucky soul, and soon to be headless soul. Although having your head severed with a saw may seem like a miserable way to go, it is actually considered a more sympathetic method of execution (History Channel), especially in comparison to others throughout history. Like the Roman Coliseum during Ancient times, guillotine executions were social scenes for the French in the 18^th century. They even were recreated as miniature toys for children (History Channel), so it is easy to say that the guillotine was an extremely innovative form of capital punishment.

            From a scientific standpoint, many pose the question “Does decapitation necessarily constitute death?” (Decapitation and the definition of Death-633). This constitures the ultimate question, what is death? In this scientific journal article, death is constituted as “the cessation of the functioning of the organism as a whole” (632). This article also explains John Lizza’s opinion on the matter, and well put by Franklin Miller and Robert Truog, “if we are willing to accept decapitation as death, we should also be willing to accept physiological decapitation (total brain failure) as death” (632).

Another goal of this curation is to take the viewer on an exploration of different execution methods throughout history, one of which dating back to Biblical times. Crucifixion is an execution method which most associate with Jesus Christ and his punishment from Pontius Pilot. This method involves the individual’s hands and feet being nailed to the cross. The arms are stretched out horizontally and the feet together straight downwards, so the body mocks the shape of a cross itself. This type of suffering is slow and painful, as the individual is essentially left to rot in the open, not to mention they have sharp heavy nails drilled into their limbs. I find it interesting how the crucifix has become such a prevalent religious symbol, when to me it seems as though it merely represents death and suffering. I can’t imagine anyone wearing a golden guillotine, electric chair, or hypodermic needle around his or her neck. It would be preposterous. Even with the religious association, we never question how often this symbol is used. When first looking at Crucifixion by William Chase in the Smithsonian Art Museum, one can immediately see the suffering and sacrifice involved in this process. 

"He suffered under Pontious Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried"

-The Apostles Creed

        
        One of my favorite short stories is The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson. Being the willful middle schooler I was at the time of reading it, I wasn’t expecting to be so captivated by this haunting and sinister tale. In the beginning of the story, there is much hype and promotion for the lottery.  As the story progresses, it seems like a normal lottery where the winner receives a large cash prize at the end. However as the story thickens, readers will find that the not so lucky winner suffers a death by stoning. Although there is constant foreshadowing of towns people gathering stones throughout the story, the ending has an unexpected twist. The mother of the winner cries out “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (Jackson) just before her daughter is pelted with rocks.  I realize that this lottery winning isn’t technically an execution. The winner is not paying their dues for a crime they committed, and they do not present an immediate threat to the community. They are put to death simply to keep the tradition alive, no matter how gruesome. However, I have chosen to include an excerpt of this short story in the curation because it highlights a very important execution method, that being stoning. Stoning was used during ancient times, and is quoted throughout Hammurabi’s Code of Laws. 

            Thinking about execution where we live today is of the utmost importance. In the United States, the death penalty is a highly controversial topic. The most common execution methods in America are lethal injection, the electric chair, gas chambers, and hanging (Death Penalty Information Center). Since lethal injection is the predominant, and in many states the only method of capital punishment, it is in high demand and often unavailable. Because of this, Utah is now the only state in the country to authorize the firing squad as a back up in the event that the proper drugs for lethal injection are unobtainable (New York Times).

Right before an individual is executed, he or she is given a last meal of their choice. The cornucopias of meals these prisoners chose to indulge in right before they were executed shows you something about them personally. Many requested fried food, one individual chose to eat while watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and another exempted from eating a meal entirely. Creating a connection between the viewer and the executioner was a very important goal of this curation. The scary part is, I saw stark similarities between these criminals and myself.  I have the same favorite ice cream flavor as a man who committed 168 counts of murder.

Robert Gleason is an American man who chose to be executed by electrocution in 2013. His picture will show up in this curation next to Mary Antoinette, who was executed by the guillotine during the French Revolution. I wanted to emphasize that anyone can be executed, whether you are the innocent from The Lottery, one of the wealthiest monarchs in Europe, or the guy with tattoos running up his neck.  The purpose of this curation is to emphasize that various execution methods can induce different amounts of discomfort, and that anyone can be executed; no matter how evil or innocent you may be. As well as to highlight the controversy regarding this issue, and invoke a personal connection between the viewer and the executioners. 

Voices in Time

The Bad and the Ugly

Conversations

Innocence versus Evil

"All things truly wicked start from innocence"
-Ernest Hemingway

Opinions and Reactions

It's Personal

Further Remarks

M U L L I N ’ S

Q  U  A  R  T  E  R  L  Y

"Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, 

but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."

-Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Works Cited

Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "[Man sitting

beside a guillotine.]" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1880 - 1883.

Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "The Place De La Concorde

(1877)." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1898.

Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "Execution Of Louis

Xvi." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1867 – 1868

"The Electric Chair." The Electric Chair. Capital Punishment UK, n.d. Web.

19 Apr. 2015.

Chase, William M. Crucifixion. 1872-1879. Smithsonian American Art Museum,

Washington D.C. Crucifixion by William Merritt Chase / American Art. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.

"Compounding Pharmacies." Compounding Pharmacies. Death Penalty

Information Center, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Connor, Tracy. "What Could Go Wrong? Electric Chair Poised to Make a

Comeback." NBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

"Death Row." Death Penalty Information Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.

Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Editorial. New Yorker 26 June 1948:

n. pag. Archives.newyorker.com. Condé Nast. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

Klein, Christopher. "The Guillotine’s First Cut." History.com. A&E Television

Networks, 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2015.

Legraw, Joan M., and Michael A. Grodin. "Health Professionals and Lethal Injection

Execution in the United States." Human Rights Quarterly 24.2 (2002): 382-423. Web.

"Letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Jay." National Archives and Records

Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Lingafelter, Amy. "Guillotine." The Iowa Review. Vol. 40. N.p.: U of Iowa, n.d.

183-84. JSTOR. Web.

Miller, Franklin G., and Robert D. Truog. "Decapitation and the Definition of Death."

Journal of Medical Ethics. Vol. 36. N.p.: BMJ, n.d. 632-34. JSTOR. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "Marie Antoinette, Late Queen of

France." The New York Public Library Digital Collections.

Rath, Arun. "Utah Brings Back Firing Squad Executions; Witnesses Recall The Last

One." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs:

Print Collection, The New York Public Library. "The Zenith of French Glory; -- The Pinnacle of Liberty. Religion, Justice, Loyalty & all the Bugbears of Unenlightened Minds, Farewell!" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1779 - 1805.

"The Witch Persecution at Wurzburg." Original Sources of European

History. Vol. 3. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 28-29. Hanover College. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

"Utah to Use Firing Squads If Lethal Drugs Are Unavailable." The New York

Times. The New York Times, 23 Mar. 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Walbank, F. W. "Phalaris' Bull in Timaeus (Diod. Sic. Xiii. 90. 4-7)." The Classical

Review. Vol. 59. N.p.: Cambridge UP, n.d. 39-42. JSTOR. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.

White, Alan. "12 Pictures Of Death Row Prisoners' Last Meals." BuzzFeed. N.p., n.d.

Web. 02 Apr. 2015.

"8 Things You May Not Know About the Guillotine." History.com. A&E Television

Networks, 15 Sept. 2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.