Rick's Personal Blog
2002-03-03 - 12:08 a.m.
The following is an interview from the March 2002 Esquire Magazine. It is an interview with Jim Willet, the retiring warden at the prison that has the most executions in the US; Huntsville, Texas. The interview was conducted by Patrick Beach.
What I've Learned
I presided over eighty-nine executions, eighty-eight men and one woman, and everyone was different.
I would signal it was time to start the chemicals by taking off my glasses.
The best part of leaving the job is not having to watch anybody die.
People think we enjoy this.
I made it through eight years as a warden and never had one run off.
If I could do one thing differently, I would have lead a better Christian life.
Growing up, we had a four bedroom house without running water. You spend a lot of time on the back porch in the evening. You're much aware of the heavens and the stars because you can see them.
Bud Russell, who worked in the prison system for decades, used to say that not everyone who commits a crime a crime is a criminal. I believe that. They are human beings.
We in this nation have gotten to where we can't laugh at ourselves anymore.
The people who design tags in clothes don't use glasses yet.
You should do good for the sake of your mother.
People who are sure of the death penalty one way or the other must have greater insight than me.
If you can't control your emotions, you could wind up looking at the ceiling of a death chamber from a gurney.
I consider myself a gentle person.
The hardest part of raising teenagers is knowing they have to go through the things I know from experience that they don't need to be doing.
Macs are better than PCs.
A good day in retirement is different from a good day at work. If youˇ¦ve weeded a flower bed, you can look and see how clean it is.
When we had six executions in ten days my wife told me I was short with her and the kids.
Every man should know to fix a toilet that won't quit running.
I don't think anybody does this looking to get rich. I knew there wasn't money in this; I didn't know there was glamour.
My wife always says if you wake up in the morning and you think of somebody you haven t talked to in a while, you should probably call them. I think that's right.
To change and to improve aren't necessarily the same thing.
Huntsville is a good little town, but all you hear is that it is the execution capital.
If you go to work on time and do what you are hired to do, you can be successful.
Luck counts too.
The older I get, the more comfortable I am with who I am, but the desire to become a better person gets stronger.
The greatest movie line ever? Coming from a warden it ought to be, "What we have here is a failure to communicate."
Doing something for those who can do nothing in return can be very satisfying.
It's ironic that some of the men who died on the gurney and professed to being believers in Jesus Christ as their savior might not have done so if the had not been condemned to die.
Fate will have it.
So many people who are locked up didn't have a good life at home. I knew I needed to tell my children I loved them and that I'd be there to help them out.
I can't be certain I didn't help execute an innocent person. There may be some people who will say "I did it" to protect somebody else.
One of the best final statements I ever heard was ruined at the end. The guy apologized to the victim's family and then to his own family for what he put them through. And then, before I could remove my glasses, he cleared his throat and said, "How about them Cowboys?"
If I had to choose a last meal, it damn sure wouldn't be a cheeseburger and fries.
In retirement, I find myself looking forward to the weekend to get here just like I did when I worked. Only now it's because I'm home alone during the week.
I had a guy on the gurney look me straight in the eye and say, "God bless you." And I said, "God bless you too."
The secret to a long marriage is communication. And doing your share of the housework.
I do all of it now.[]
I thought it was an interesting perspective.
Later,
Rick
My Reads: