Life and Death

 
There has been much discussion over the years about the pros and cons of capital punishment, or the 'Death Penalty' as it is called. Maybe because of my first hand experiences in this area, my views fall squarely in the camp that says that capital punishment is not only barbaric, but that it brutalises everyone, and reduces us all as human beings, and must be abolished. 

Irrespective of where your opinions lie on the subject I would like to share something of what it is like for condemned prisoners here in Zambia.

Regularly the head of the 'Reception Office' will make his presence known to the condemned prisoners by shouting out at them, as if telling a joke, "I will soon be coming to pick up a good number of you to take you to the slaughter", the prisoners as usual would take issue with him and respond by calling him names, which usually were 'undertaker!', 'mortuary attendant', 'murderer'.  Bravely the prisoners also shout out, "you're just lying we have nothing to fear". This bravado soon dissipates and the condemned section is gripped with fear, when word goes round that some of the condemned prisoners are having their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. That sounds strange at first, until you understand that every time the President commutes sentences from 'Death' to 'Life' there follows almost immediately a dozen or so executions.

My dad writes on the 21st January 1988.
"...Rumours of executions have started again. This time all the tell tell signs normally preceding the macabre ritual are there. They have cleaned the awaiting cell: they have sent prisoners to burn charcoal, they have slashed the grass in the court yard of the execution chamber: They have cashed a cheque to buy special food and booze for those that are to die! Human beings cant surely be normal! ""

The prisoners see the coffins being made, and this time it looks like 12 people are to be executed given the number of coffins. The word soon goes round the prison that the day for 'taking' will be Tuesday the following week with the hangings to take place on Friday of the same week. The stench in the condemned section is the final straw that sends the prisoners into an uneasy silence. The stench is stronger than usual because they are cleaning the execution chamber. The prison policy is that the execution chamber is never cleaned after an execution. All the blood and faeces are left to dry, only to be cleaned a week or so before the next hanging. The floor is cleaned, polished and ventilated so that the accumulated foul air can escape, in readiness for the next lot of foul air to fill the room up. I can only assume this is just another way for the system to torment the prisoners.


25th January 1988, Taking Day,
"...We are shepherded into the cells before normal 'lock up' time...The warders and Hangman are picking up the twelve condemned prisoners for execution! They do it as if it were a joke, they were even laughing as they rushed us in. One of the sergeants was proudly saying that we should get in quickly so that they could go and play football. It is such a macabre experience to have to be present when it happens. To know and feel and smell death in such quantities - death of normal and healthy human beings. from now until probably Friday when the final deed is done, the whole prison air is soured by death..."

Once the prisoners are locked up in their cells the head of the 'reception office' calls out the names of the prisoners to be hanged. One by one they are pulled out of their cells by the warders and marched down to the little space between the two blocks of cells. Once there, it is a free for all, they are kicked and beaten by the warders. Again I quote from my dads journal  "...Throughout, Sgt H is the master of ceremony. H. is thus a bete noir of the condemned prisoner and yet he claims to be an elder of the 7th Day Adventist church! I wonder if his duties are not inconsistent with his faith?.."


During that period I think that there were over 140 prisoners on death row, many of which were executed during my fathers time as a condemned prisoner.

A Catholic Cardinal McCarrick put it very well in my opinion when he wrote "...the death penalty diminishes all of us, increases disrespect for human life, and offers the tragic illusion that we can teach that killing is wrong by killing."

Are we going to allow ourselves to be reduced to this in Zambia?