Death Row

The cell is 8 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 10 feet high. Aside from the condemned inmate who occupies this space, there is also a bed, a toilet, and a small writing table. There is not much room for amenities, not much space for moving around, and not much privacy. This is the typical death row cell, where the condemned await death. For the most part, each inmate spends 23 out of 24 hours a day locked in this cell and is only allowed out for a brief shower and irregular recreation. Much of the schedule depends on the availability of the correctional staff who work on “the row.”

Over time, the concept of isolating those about to be executed has evolved from the Tower of London and its “apartments” to the modern-day correctional facility with its population of condemned prisoners. When executions by hanging were conducted in Folsom Prison, there were five cells located on the second floor of the gallows room, numbered 1 through 5. A rope was attached to the ceiling just outside in Cell Number 1. As each condemned inmate was executed, the others moved up one cell. The men in Folsom came to know that place as “death row.”

Although some prisons in which executions are conducted still have “death rows,” none as extreme as old Folsom, many now have what is called “death status.” Men who have been sentenced to die and are awaiting the result of their appeals are allowed to mingle with other death status inmates, and in some institutions even with other inmates serving lesser sentences. Part of the reason for this change is the reality that those sentenced to death might wait as long as 14 to 18 years. Traditionally, for the condemned, there was no programming, no activities, or work opportunities. With the lengthy appeals process and the amount of time before an execution actually takes place today, it has seemed more appropriate to allow these individuals to have some kind of productive activities. Acknowledgment of the fact that “there is life on death row” has altered correctional policy and practice.

Close to 4,000 inmates (including approximately 50 women) currently await executions on “death rows” [Page 128]around the United States. For each one, time is measured differently, yet there are cycles and stages experienced in common. Generally, to begin with, they feel anger and resentment. As time stretches out, this is replaced by stoicism, with cautious optimism and hope—after all, some appeals have successfully resulted in commutation or even reversal. In the latter stages, the condemned prisoner experiences resignation and introspection.

Individuals sentenced to death occupy a peculiar status in the inmate pecking order. Other inmates both respect and fear them. They are the apotheosis of the criminal world, having committed the ultimate crime and been dealt the ultimate punishment. These “dead men walking” have little to lose in the realm of further punishment, and with death hanging over their heads, they have little time or interest in the games and politics of the general prison society.

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