Period 4: Chapters 4 and 5: Question 6

[Maddie]

Would you be able to watch a loved one be put to death? Would you follow through if they asked you to be there?

Remember that you have to answer 2 questions for credit for our lesson in addition to the responses required by Mrs. Gilbert.

[Ellen]

Honestly, this would be the hardest thing to do. If I were asked to be there though I would definitely follow through because by being there I am expressing my love for that loved one. If I were to choose not to show up I would be selfish because that moment that I would end up seeing would be haunting and engraved in my head. I would have to deal with that for the rest of my life. But looking at it in the perspective of my loved one, after that moment he or she are not going to have a life anymore. This makes my decision simple; I would have to follow through because I would want to be there for his or her last words. I would want them, before his or her life is taken away, to see that even though they committed something horrible, there are people who still love him or her and support him or her. Wouldn't you still love someone close to you even if they did commit a crime? You have a strong connection with them. You haven gotten to know them.

[Yalan]

Although I am completely against the death penalty, I know it exists, so in the case of a loved one being put through such a thing, if they asked, I would definitely go. Their asking me to be present is kind of like their final wish, and I believe that the person receives a safe passage after life if they can pass away peacefully. Also, if I were to receive the death sentence, I'd be scared out of my wits, so having someone with me would calm me down.
I can't say I'd be comfortable watching them die nor would I want to, but for the sake of that person's dignity and the love I have for him/her, I would go.

[Michael]

I would stay. In the simple sense, it would be honoring of the person who asked the deed of me, but on a deeper level, such an act would be symbolic. To stand by at the death of a man as a friend of such a man would be to demonstrate that death cannot severe the ties of kinship, brotherhood--all that stuff. It would be a rebellion against death: Whereas death is a thing of fear, being there in support of the condemned would overcome fear with the comfort of companionship; whereas death is a thing of loneliness ("We enter the earth alone, we leave the earth alone" --James A. Froude), being there in support of the condemned would overcome fear of loneliness with comradeship.

Besides, it would be so scrumptiously egotistical.

[Kee]

I agree with Ellen, that would be one of the hardest decision of my life. If I were given the choice, I would prefer not to go, only because I would be too devastated to watch, not because I did not care. However, if a loved one specifically asked me to be there, I would definitely be there for them. If they were to ask me, it obviously means something for me to be there, and I would not want to be selfish and not show.

[John]

It depends on if I am sorry for them dying or not-- well not exactly. Say my uncle murdered, and I didn't agree with that, I probably wouldn't go. I see being there as supporting the person, not the punishment/execution.

[Erin]

If someone I loved asked me to be there when they were put to death I would go. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the people you love. However, it would be one of the hardest things a person can see. It is something that a person cannot un-see. That moment would live on forever. Part of me would not want to go, I'm certian of that. But if I truly loved them, even after their terrible crime, I would not be able to say no. It would be their final wish, and who could say no to that?

[Sarah]

If someone I loved committed a crime and was sentenced to death...well, I would be there for that person. How could I not? Like Helen Prejean I wouldn't commend what he/she did, but I would do my best to show my love and support and help them make ammends with themselves/God/the victim's family before they died. I feel like if I really loved he/she, I would want to spend as much time with that prson as possible before he/she was killed...making sure that every ounce of my love was expressed before they were taken from me.

[Samantha]

I don't actually think I could watch someone I loved being put to death. Like Pat Sonnier's family - I feel it would be too painful and most of my family, if put on death row, would probably not want me watching them, either. If I had to, I'm sure I would also pass out or be traumatized for the rest of my life. While hearing the news would still be painful, I don't think it would be nearly as intense as actually watching the execution firsthand.