A few weeks ago, I watched the documentary on hulu "Into the Abyss" by Werner Herzog. It was not an easy watch. It details the execution of Michael Perry who was scheduled to DIE within a mere eight days of appearing on screen.
That's Michael right up there. This documentary REALLY hits you hard in the feels. It focuses on a triple homicide that occured in Conroe, Texas in October 2001. The two individuals of interest in the case being Michael Perry and this guy Jason Burkett:
I think you can tell a lot by looking into someone eyes, observing the energy they put off, and facial expression. I've always been adept at sort of figuring a person out and then later finding out I was right about an aspect of their personality. I digress. If you watch the film, burkett (who narrowly escapes the death penalty but will be imprisoned until the early 2050's) puts off a very guilty demeanor.
As I watch the film, you are literally watching a person who was convicted of the SAME crime about to be dying in EIGHT days. Burkett will get out by the time he is 60. Perry is imprisoned and executed via lethal injection. Two different people with two different trials for the SAME thing. The jury decided Burketts fate mostly because of a moving speech his father (who is serving a life sentence) reports words to the effect "don't kill my son. I was a bad father. I was never around. He grew up in extreme poverty. If i had been a better father Jason ....." blah blah blah would've turned out to be a great citizen etc etc. Yes, that's probably true. But also why he narrowly escaped the fate Michael received.
The following link is Michael Perry's REAL story that includes solid evidence supporting Michael did not commit these crimes. And detailing horrific police brutality. Michael was actually in jail when said crime was being committed!
http://www.savemichaelperry.info/case.asp
Michael Perry was no saint but he also was no killer. His final words included yelling to the people witnessing the execution "I forgive you".
At this point you may be wondering, wait i thought this was about the life of an Executioner? I am getting there. Let us now speak of Fred Allen. He was captain of corrections at the "death house "in Huntsville Texas. Fred personally was responsible for assisting inmates during their final hours - he would talk with them, get them whatever last meal they wanted etc. He was part of the "tie down" crew who consisted of several people that were to secure the inmate in straps prior to injection.
Fred oversaw 125 executions to include Michael Perry's. Finally it got to him one day. He quit immediately. He now works as a carpenter but is left with the haunting memories of looking each and every one of the in the eye. Fred doesn't seem like such a bad guy...the video is short don't worry. But if you're still reading this I'm sure you are too invested not to watch.
You have to wonder how one gets into this type of "work". I am sure there are some psycho- bastards out there who may get a sick thrill out of it. But from everything I've read these people just sort of end up in these positions.
I feel a profound sense of sadness over this particular case. If you have the time, watch the documentary and then go read Perry's site that i linked above. Perry got in this mess for being in the wrong crown, not murdering three people. Certainly growing up in extreme poverty didn't help his falling into the "wrong crowd".
This documentary just really shows how fucked the American "corrections" system is. What to do, what to do. It's a heavy topic. I don't mind immersing myself in it. Too many sheeple don't invest any time trying to look past the surface of this kind of thing. Because it's not comfortable, etc.
People need to get their heads out of the sand. RIP Michael Perry. ♡