Lethal Injection

Watching a man put to death in the name of the state

“I have seen death before, more than I ever want to recount or recall, but never actually witnessed a last breath. That changed.”

In a cold, dark San Quentin cement box theater, I saw the deep breaths of nervousness, the breaths of annoyance when an IV couldn’t be inserted easily ... and the last quick breaths of air as a man’s chest went still. This man wasn’t a friend, a family member, or even an acquaintance. This man was convicted of brutally murdering four innocent people and later bragging about how he watched their last breaths. On this night, I saw his, and all I could think was sadness. Families with lost loves. Those who are against the death penalty clearly would not be happy with this night, and for those who are in favor, it’s clinical and not the painful end you might desire.

It started with a phone call a few weeks before the set date of death for Stanley “Tookie” Williams on December 13, 2005. On the other end, a contact with then California Governor Schwarzenegger’s office. I had covered the entire California governor’s recall a couple of years earlier and had gone on a motorcycle ride with him for a story, and they felt that, since I was fair, I should be included on a list of possible witnesses.