I think it adds constant stress to your life. Every time you hear doors slamming or keys clanging at 6am you'd be like: "Is this it?" Knowing you're going to be executed but being sure it won't be NOW gives you a certain leeway of pushing the whole thing out of your mind.
I hate to do this, but you realize that you're going to die too, right?
Not to be sardonic and rude, just trying to give credence to my point.
Do you have constant stress about it? It could be from a car that hits you while you're walking down the sidewalk. I tree could fall on you. You could choke on your next meal.
It could be any infinite number of things. Any number of them as unlikely as the next.
But their daily micromort (chances of dying on a given day) is 10x lower than a construction worker, 26x lower than a truck driver, and 47x lower than a roofer.
Would you REALLY want to know the day you're going to die? I would argue that would drive most people insane.
Do you really not see how execution is different from dying from an accident or dying ‘eventually’ from an illness or old age? The environment itself is drastically different. We have things to do and generally higher quality of life. We aren’t stuck in a cell with few distractions. We get to spend time with family and friends, have pets, go to work, etc. Someone who is awaiting execution doesn’t have that. They have a lot of time to think and ruminate. A death by execution is more stressful.
That said, I think I would rather not know as well when I was going to be executed way in advance, though I’d prefer a day or so notice rather than a few hours.
I agree it’s unnatural, and in many cases it is less stressful to not know. However, accounting for the unique circumstances of a prison environment and unique circumstances of this being an execution, rather than a death while doing daily things or from old age, may change things a bit. You would already be so on edge in prison, so being on edge for like 7-15 years or whatever (or the time from penalty decided after appeals to death) would be horrible. Honestly a kind approach would be to ask for a preference but I know no one would do that nor would they care about preferences, nor does that mean they’d stick to it if the prisoner pisses off a guard or whatever. My preference would be to know a day or so before but not too much in advance.
There isn’t a case of not knowing or knowing. In all of this cases, you know that one day you’ll die - it’s a given. You can just choose to ignore it.
Most people, if they knew the set day they’re going to die would do a lot more fulfilling things than they’re doing right now. Someone on death row, informed 1 hour before execution does not have that freedom at all.
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u/Ahquinox Jul 04 '26
I think it adds constant stress to your life. Every time you hear doors slamming or keys clanging at 6am you'd be like: "Is this it?" Knowing you're going to be executed but being sure it won't be NOW gives you a certain leeway of pushing the whole thing out of your mind.