He spent months visiting death row inmates and witnessed three executions. Here’s what he’s learned

Faith Karimi, CNN

(CNN) — On August 9, 2018, Steven Hale stood extracurricular a Tennessee situation arsenic a convicted murderer wrong awaited a lethal dose of a three-drug cocktail. It was nan first execution of a decease statement inmate successful nan authorities successful astir a decade.

Hale was 1 of 7 reporters selected by a grim lottery to witnesser Billy Ray Irick’s execution astatine nan Riverbend Maximum Security Institution successful Nashville. He’d written stories astir Irick’s horrific rape and execution of a 7-year-old woman much than 3 decades earlier.

But thing prepared him for that nighttime successful 2018.

Not acold away, successful an area reserved for decease punishment supporters, a man blared AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” from a loudspeaker.

And arsenic a chaperone led Hale and different journalists to nan execution chamber, Hale saw different mini group of group huddled successful a section extracurricular nan prison. They were location to show their emotion for Irick.

One man told Hale he had called nan situation earlier and pleaded pinch officials to fto him beryllium successful nan decease enclosure truthful Irick would spot a friends look conscionable earlier he died. The man sobbed erstwhile a situation charismatic said no, Hale says.

That night, arsenic Irick took his past activity successful nan execution chamber, nan group held a vigil extracurricular nan prison, hoping to declare his assemblage for a memorial. Their stories lingered pinch Hale agelong aft nan execution.

He soon became fascinated pinch nan committedness shown by these supporters. They were not relatives of nan prisoners, aliases decease statement groupies. Nor were they anti-death punishment activists — astatine least, not astatine nan beginning.

They were strangers agreed successful 1 mission: visiting, befriending and comforting decease statement inmates successful what mightiness beryllium their last months.

“I didn’t cognize these group existed,” Hale told CNN. “I didn’t cognize anyone was going retired location to conscionable sojourn group connected decease row, not arsenic attorneys, not moreover family members, conscionable arsenic regular folks.”

He began to subordinate their play trips to Riverbend, wherever they sat pinch decease statement prisoners and talked astir everything from shot to their families.

For Tennesseeans connected some sides of nan decease punishment issue, it was a turbulent time. In a span of little than 2 years aft Irick was put to death, Tennessee held six much executions, a drawstring dissimilar immoderate different seen successful nan authorities since nan 1940s.

Hale witnessed 2 of those executions, successful summation to Irick’s. He chronicles his experiences successful a caller book, “Death Row Welcomes You: Visiting Hours successful nan Shadow of nan Execution Chamber,” which explores nan complexities of Tennessee’s superior reward strategy and nan unsocial friendships that create betwixt condemned murderers and nan strangers who sojourn them.

The book documents nan prisoners’ troubled pasts and examines their position aft decades successful prison, distant from nan public.  Hale said he was struck by nan normalcy of nan conversations he and others had pinch prisoners during their galore visits.

“These gatherings are truthful mean arsenic to beryllium bonzer and truthful life-giving arsenic to consciousness defiant,” Hale writes successful nan book. He told CNN that during 1 of his visits, a decease statement inmate learned he had gone to Auburn University and began needling him. “He was teasing maine astir Auburn and saying it was overrated that twelvemonth … it almost felt for illustration I could beryllium successful a barroom somewhere.”

“In that visitation room, everything felt normal,” he said. “And past erstwhile we walked out, and location was a barbed ligament and equipped guard, you benignant of remember, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m successful a maximum-security prison.’ “

Hale, 36, is simply a newsman for nan Nashville Banner. CNN talked to him astir his individual encounters pinch decease statement prisoners and nan unsocial organization of visitors — successful nan contented of “Dead Man Walking”‘s Sister Helen Prejean — who show them emotion successful their last months. His answers person been edited for magnitude and clarity.

How did you spell from penning astir decease statement inmates to immersing yourself into their world?

I was covering criminal justness successful Tennessee and had an liking successful nan decease penalty. But erstwhile I moved to Tennessee successful 2010, location were nary executions going on. It was that measurement until astir 2014, erstwhile nan authorities started scheduling immoderate executions. I volunteered to witnesser 1 of those executions arsenic a reporter, and was gearing up for that erstwhile it sewage called disconnected because of litigation complete lethal injection drugs.

And past successful 2018, nan authorities scheduled a number of executions aft nan lethal injection litigation was completed and I started covering those cases. I was trying to question and reply him (Irick) aliases immoderate of nan men connected decease row.  And present successful Tennessee, it’s very difficult to get entree to incarcerated group arsenic a arsenic a reporter, peculiarly connected decease row. And during that process, I met a mates of group – conscionable regular civilians – who went retired to nan situation to sojourn decease statement inmates. I was conscionable truthful taken by this community. I started emotion for illustration location was a bigger communicative there.

When was your first sojourn pinch nan decease statement inmates and what was that like?

Not agelong aft nan first execution. I visited decease statement pinch this organization of group and sat successful that room pinch them.  I was conscionable truthful moved by that experience. It was dissimilar thing I’d ever been around. And that’s erstwhile I thought, I deliberation I mightiness person a book to constitute here. Just because location were each these group coming from different places who were together successful this room. And it was truthful different than I had imagined.

What stood retired to you astir that first visit?

The visitors’ wide demographic. There are immoderate young folks who spell retired location to visit, and past location are immoderate older folks who spell location either done a religion aliases organization organization. The first nighttime I went retired to decease statement for these visitations, I was sitting location … and location was an older female adjacent to me.  I can’t opportunity precisely really aged she was, but she looked older than my parents. There was an older White female sitting pinch a Black man connected decease row. So nan ages and demographics are each benignant of mixed up successful there, and it was fascinating to spot that. The group successful this organization are really not activists. Maybe they spot themselves that measurement now. But erstwhile they sewage into this, they were not.

Why do these group sojourn decease statement and be executions?

Many of nan visitors I met and wrote astir successful nan book started visiting decease statement done a religion aliases because different visitant invited them. Their reasons vary. In galore cases, I deliberation they spot it arsenic an look of their Christian faith. For others, what started retired arsenic a benignant of individual travel turned into thing else.

What do nan decease statement inmates deliberation astir their visits? 

I deliberation nan visits are very important to them because of nan normal societal needs we each person … these relationships correspond an acceptance of who they are today. The courts and nan situation and overmuch of nine person locked them successful arsenic nan personification they were 30 aliases 40 years ago, a personification who did horrible things. But nan friendships they’ve developed pinch regular visitors aren’t defined by that.

How did you reconcile decease statement inmates’ crimes pinch who they are now? 

That’s a bully mobility and thing I asked immoderate of those visitors myself. I asked them, really overmuch investigation did you do connected immoderate of these guys? Did you consciousness that you request to cognize what they were connected decease statement for earlier you met them? One of nan visitors told me, ‘I didn’t. I don’t  Google group erstwhile I meet them successful regular life.’ And truthful I decided not to, because I knew nan personification that I would find online wasn’t gonna beryllium nan personification that I would meet.

But there’s 1 … (inmate) … successful nan book successful peculiar that I became rather adjacent with. His name’s Terry Lynn King, and I did not look up a batch astir his case. (King was convicted of first-degree execution and has been connected Tennessee’s decease statement since 1985).

One point I’ve ever said, and that different visitors person said to me, is you cognize capable conscionable by nan truth that nan person’s connected decease row. You cognize you only get location because you were convicted of sidesplitting someone, aliases much than 1 person. So for a batch of nan visitors and for myself, that was benignant of enough.

I knew arsenic a journalist – and for nan book – that I was gonna person to get very heavy into their past and nan crimes they’d committed. But arsenic acold arsenic gathering them successful nan present, I wanted to conscionable meet nan personification who was location past and return them connected those terms.

What benignant of mentation did you person to make for visits pinch decease statement inmates?

I tried not to deliberation excessively overmuch astir it. The first clip I went to Riverbend Maximum Security Institution for an execution, it felt very dense psychologically.  But nan adjacent clip I went was to sojourn decease row. So successful immoderate way, that was a overmuch lighter evening because I knew I wasn’t location for an execution. I was location pinch group who had been location before, and they were excited to spot their friends connected decease row. As a reporter, I conscionable wanted to soak arsenic overmuch of it successful arsenic as I could. I was successful this ambiance and situation that astir group ne'er get to see.

How does nan visitation process work?

Tennessee’s decease statement has a benignant of unsocial setup successful that it has a gradual strategy pinch levels. So erstwhile group first get there, they’re very overmuch benignant of locked down successful nan much accepted way, and past based connected clip and behavior, they tin get much privileges (such arsenic visits). They are retired of their cells astir of nan time and are capable to do arts and crafts and bargain nutrient from nan commissary and that benignant of thing. In nan book, I mention really Terry came pinch a container of microwave popcorn, and was like, “do you want immoderate popcorn?” And went complete to nan area and popped it. It’s specified a surreal acquisition to spell into nan visitation assemblage connected decease row.

How large is nan organization of group who sojourn these inmates?

It’s difficult to say, because location are consistently regular visitors and past location are others for illustration me. But nan organization I talk astir successful nan book has astir apt a twelve people. The first clip I went there, location were astir 12 visitors from nan extracurricular and that galore men connected decease statement successful nan room.  It’s a beautiful mini community. But 1 of nan fascinating things astir it is that nan group person made it their ngo to make it a bigger organization by inviting much group to spell retired there. I was 1 of those people.

Has this acquisition changed your views connected nan decease penalty?

I’ve grown up believing that grace and redemption were bully things, and that sidesplitting people, moreover if they had killed different people, was wrong. And truthful I came into this arsenic personification who was opposed to nan decease penalty. And nan much I reported connected it arsenic a journalist, I became much alert of nan measurement nan decease punishment strategy successful America does not uphold its ain standards.

It’s go arbitrary successful nan consciousness that location are immoderate states wherever you tin perpetrate a crime, and you’ll get sentenced to death. And successful different state, you could perpetrate nan aforesaid crime, and you wouldn’t. Even wrong states, location whitethorn beryllium 1 region wherever you’ll get sentenced to decease for a crime but not successful different counties.

But nan much I witnessed these executions, I became much convinced that nan region that we support betwixt ourselves arsenic a nine and this rumor is simply a large portion of what allows it (the decease penalty) to persist. If much group spent clip pinch group connected decease row, if they witnessed these executions, they whitethorn consciousness otherwise astir them.

In nan history of nan decease penalty, we’ve made a batch of changes successful really we do it — you cognize … hanging group to electrocuting group to lethal injection. Now we’ve sewage states trying gas, and different ways. But successful my experience, seeing lethal injection and 2 electrocutions, nary matter really you do it — it looks very intelligibly for illustration sidesplitting a person.  Once you spot it up close, it’s very obvious.  In nan book, I picture it arsenic barbarism dressed arsenic bureaucracy and equipped pinch ineligible jargon.

There’s besides a group disparity successful that nan title of nan unfortunate has a very beardown relationship pinch nan sentence. People who termination achromatic group person been much apt to beryllium sentenced to decease that group who termination achromatic people. It’s conscionable not a adjacent measurement to grip those crimes.

What executions did you witness, and did those inmates person immoderate notable past words?

I witnessed nan lethal injection of Billy Ray Irick and nan electrocutions of David Earl Miller and Stephen West. Irick initially declined to make a last statement before abruptly saying he was sorry. Miller conscionable said, “beats being connected decease row.” But nan 1 that comes to my mind astir often is West weeping successful nan electrical chair. I don’t cognize and can’t really ideate everything that was going done his mind then. But I often spot successful my mind nan image of him strapped successful nan electrical chair pinch tears moving down his face.

What do you dream group return distant from your book?

I dream it challenges people’s preconceived notions astir some nan men connected decease statement and nan benignant of visitors they get.

One point that’s halfway to nan taxable of nan book is nan premise of nan decease punishment … that location are immoderate group who are truthful unspeakable that they cannot travel backmost from it. They cannot beryllium rehabilitated aliases changed. And I person seen that is not true. Because I person met immoderate of nan group connected Tennessee’s decease statement who I would fto successful my location pinch my children.

And that is not to diminish nan crimes they committed. But it’s because they’re thing for illustration nan personification who committed that crime for a assortment of reasons, whether it’s intelligence health, whether it’s constituent abuse, whether it’s nan puerility they had. Some of nan group I met person been connected decease statement longer than I person been alive. They are not nan aforesaid group anymore.