Executions and expiration dates Guest column
Dear Governor Hutchinson: Starting the day after Easter, Arkansas will be back in the national spotlight in a big way. But you already know that. You’re media savvy enough to know that when Arkansas announces plans to kill the men on death row over the course of 10 days every news outlet in the country, not to mention everyone on the fringe right to the far left (and vice versa) that has a microphone, camera, and a Twitter account, is going to have something to say about it. Death Week is going to make for some shocking headlines, satirical punchlines, and sensational copy. Congratulations, you’re going to dominate the news cycle for a fortnight.
Of course, in this particular political climate, killing convicted murderers isn’t going to get you in any trouble with the voters you have to keep stoked. The outcry of soft and coddled liberals on both coasts will likely accrue in your favor. But you knew that too. Please, tell us that politics and the points you’ll score with your base didn’t factor one iota in your decision to stack ’em two deep and kill ’em before the drugs lose potency.
And that’s why we’re doing it this way, right? We’re conducting a mass execution (how very extremist of us) because the drugs we secured will be no good by the end of the month. We bought the drugs. The drugs have a shelf life. We have to kill these men before the drugs expire. We don’t want the drugs to go to waste.
It’s similar to the old method of lining the condemned up in a straight line and shooting them through, because the executioner doesn’t want to waste precious bullets. I know, I know—these men didn’t give their victims any humane consideration, so why should we? I mean, other than we’re more humane than murderers.
Listen, I don’t want to argue with you about the morality of the death penalty. You seem dead set (no pun intended) on doing this. So let’s get past that and move on to a few housekeeping items:
1. Some of your taxpaying citizens would like to know the name of the pharmacy that’s providing the drugs. We understand the state’s attorney general doesn’t want that information out. We assume you don’t either. And we assume that the pharmacy in question would just as soon remain anonymous. But this is a unique case and as such it would be better, since we’re moving into uncharted waters, that the state be a little more circumspect about the situation. We’d like to know because drugs that volatile might not be potent enough to kill all these men. If one or more of these executions is botched, better we know who all was involved on the front end rather than worrying about what you’re covering up later.
2. If you haven’t started already, you should be preparing the staff and the inmates of the prison for the emotional toll this is going to take on them. I don’t know how you’d do that, but that’s really your problem since you’re the one who signed his name to an order to have these men killed over 10 days. Don’t kid yourself, there’s going to be an enormous emotional toll on the staff and inmates—and the potential violence, abuses, or breakdowns that are fomented by this action are going to happen on your watch. So while you’re protecting the efficacy of the drug supply, it might be a good idea to consider all the other humans involved and do something to shore up that side of the equation.
3. Finally, Governor, I think you should be present for all these executions. I don’t mean sitting up, waiting by your phone in Little Rock. You should be there, in or near the room. You’re making history and you should be there to witness it. You’re setting a new record. (How’s that for making America great again?) You should be there, if for no other reason than to bear witness to what you’ve ordered in the event you ever feel compelled to speak to some future governor who’s considering doing the same. I have a feeling you’ll counsel him or her not to do what you’ve done if you actually have to watch it.
For the record, I think the state must retain the right to execute. But I also think the state should tremble at the thought of doing so and resist any temptation to do it except in the rarest and most extreme circumstances. That said, I hope that the group discount killing spree you’ve ordered is so rare that it never happens again. I’d be elated if it didn’t happen this time.
Tim Jackson lives, works, and worships in Little Rock, his home of more than 50 years.