Death Row

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For information about the Record company see Death Row Records

For information about the computer game see Deathrow (game)

Death Row is a term which refers to the section of a prison that houses individuals awaiting execution.

After individuals are found guilty of an offense and sentenced to execution, they will remain on Death Row while following an appeals procedure, if they so choose, and then until there is a convenient time for execution. Traditionally, inmates on death row are allowed to choose almost anything they would like for their last meal, are permitted to say some last words, and may be counselled by a priest or other religious figure.

Many countries will not execute people who were mentally unfit at the time a crime is committed and were therefore judged to be unaware of the seriousness of their crime. A prisoner whose mental state declines after the crime may not be spared execution. Most countries also do not execute people who were under 18 when they committed their crime. Opponents of the death penalty claim that a prisoner's isolation and uncertainty over their fate constitute a form of mental cruelty and that death row inmates are liable to become mentally ill, if they are not already. This is referred to as the death row phenomenon.

As of July 1, 2006, there were 3,366 prisoners awaiting execution in the United States. Of these, seven were officially on Death Row in more than one U.S. state.^[1]

Being placed on Death Row does not mean that the inmate is without recourse. In Great Britain, before it abolished capital punishment, prisoners were conventionally reprieved if they were not executed within 90 days of being sentenced to death.^{[citation needed]} In some Caribbean countries which still authorize execution, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the ultimate court of appeal. It has upheld appeals by prisoners who have spent several years under sentence of death, stating that it does not desire to see the death row phenomenon emerge in countries under its jurisdiction.

[edit] See also

• Live from Death Row
• The Green Mile was the name of the death row in the Stephen King's novel The Green Mile and film based upon it.
• Capital punishment

[edit] External links

• Last Words from Death Row Inmates
• Dead Man Eating - An up to date listing of Death Row inmates' last meals/words.
• Texas's official Death Row website
  • For a time, the Texas Department of Justice's site had lists of last meals of executed prisoners. This was removed after it was criticized as "tasteless", but the list is available on online archives. [2] [3]
• Arizona Department of Corrections Death Row Information
• Death row facts