3 ms·

Of possible interest, Texas records death row inmates last words before execution. You can read them all here: https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_executed

Of possible interest, Texas records death row inmates last words before execution. You can read them all here: https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_executed_offenders.html https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_executed_offenders.h... My favorite is Delbert Teague, Jr. who quoted the oath of the Knights of Solamnia from Dragonlance.

fighterpilot 5y ago
I clicked on 15 and they're all very positive in tone. Surprised.
- saagarjha 5y ago
  I found a couple that were a bit less positive, but most do seem to appear remorseful to some extent. None seemed to be particularly extreme, though–I wonder if those are sanitized to some extent.
- riffraff 5y ago
  check https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/tignergeraldlast.html https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/tignergeraldlas... > Yes. My last statement. I was wrongfully convicted of this crime against Michael Watkins and James Williams on 10th Street on August 31, 1993. I got convicted on a false confession because I never admitted to it, but my lawyer did not put this out to the jury. I did not kill those drug dealers. I send love to my family and friends; my east side family and friends. I am being real with the real. That's all that counts in my heart. I will see you later. That's it.
rswail 5y ago
Texas has institutionalized a barbaric entertainment around death row prisoners, with things like "last meals" and "last words". It's disgusting.
- capableweb 5y ago
  Or, a bit more charitable interpretation is that they are trying to inject a bit humanity in a otherwise very inhumane process. For the record, I'm not for death penalty at all.
vs2 5y ago
I really wish I hadn't open this link. So much grief and wasted lives.
rvieira 5y ago
That hit hard. At the risk of sounding like a cliche softy, those statements made really sad, and then even sadder when I thought that all[0] of them must have also commited terrible crimes and caused suffering to so many people. [0] - Well, at least 96% according to the OP.
jokethrowaway 5y ago
This is a great read! Simple crawling of all the statements: Promise.all([...$$('a[href$="last.html"]')].map(aa => fetch(aa.href).then(a => a.text()).then(a => a.replace(/(\n|\r|<[^->]>| )/g, '').match(/Last Statement:(.?)/)).then(a => [aa.href, a && a[1].trim()]))).then(a => console.log(JSON.stringify(a)))

fighterpilot 5y ago

I clicked on 15 and they're all very positive in tone. Surprised.

saagarjha 5y ago
I found a couple that were a bit less positive, but most do seem to appear remorseful to some extent. None seemed to be particularly extreme, though–I wonder if those are sanitized to some extent.
riffraff 5y ago
check https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/tignergeraldlast.html https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/tignergeraldlas... > Yes. My last statement. I was wrongfully convicted of this crime against Michael Watkins and James Williams on 10th Street on August 31, 1993. I got convicted on a false confession because I never admitted to it, but my lawyer did not put this out to the jury. I did not kill those drug dealers. I send love to my family and friends; my east side family and friends. I am being real with the real. That's all that counts in my heart. I will see you later. That's it.

rswail 5y ago

Texas has institutionalized a barbaric entertainment around death row prisoners, with things like "last meals" and "last words". It's disgusting.

capableweb 5y ago
Or, a bit more charitable interpretation is that they are trying to inject a bit humanity in a otherwise very inhumane process. For the record, I'm not for death penalty at all.

vs2 5y ago

I really wish I hadn't open this link. So much grief and wasted lives.

rvieira 5y ago

That hit hard. At the risk of sounding like a cliche softy, those statements made really sad, and then even sadder when I thought that all[0] of them must have also commited terrible crimes and caused suffering to so many people. [0] - Well, at least 96% according to the OP.

jokethrowaway 5y ago

This is a great read! Simple crawling of all the statements: Promise.all([...$$('a[href$="last.html"]')].map(aa => fetch(aa.href).then(a => a.text()).then(a => a.replace(/(\n|\r|<[^->]>| )/g, '').match(/Last Statement:(.?)/)).then(a => [aa.href, a && a[1].trim()]))).then(a => console.log(JSON.stringify(a)))