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A Hangman's Story
"You're sentenced to death by hanging!" The verdict is terrifying enough for the condemned. But has anyone ever thought how the hangman feels in carrying out the execution?
For Samuel (not his real name), who has taken part in the execution of 103 death-row inmates, both men and women, it's all in a day's work.
He was with the execution team in some of the high-profile cases at the Pudu, Kajang and Taiping prisons since enlisted for the "special task" 20 years ago.
His last task involved the hanging of a Nigerian, about 3 years ago, for a drug offence.
"It's not easy to end someone's life," said this 48-year old prisons deputy superintendent who has served the department for almost 30 years. For Samuel, serving the Prisons Department is an honour, more so his father and grandfather had also served the department.
During a 2-hour exclusive interview with Bernama at the Kajang Prison recently, Samuel spoke of his special task and the executions he had carried out.
HANGMAN'S CHARACTER TRAITS
To Samuel, the special task is like any other job, but certainly not a "glamorous" one.
"I always go for challenging tasks and in prison you have two – the whipman's and the hangman's. If you have performed these 2, it means you've achieved the very top like you've done your PhD if you're studying," he said.
He talked of certain character traits that enabled him to perform the hangman's task.
One, he said, he was never a cry-baby even when he was a little boy and the other, he could overcome grieve very fast.
As he put it, "you cannot be soft-hearted to perform this task and at the same time you cannot boast of what you are doing."
METICULOUS SELECTION
Many prison officers are keen to do this special task but the selection process is meticulous.
Those who apply have only one chance. If they fail, there is no 2nd chance.
According to Samuel, out of 30 applicants, perhaps 3 or 4 candidates would make it and sometimes there was none.
"Prior to an interview, our job record would be scrutinised and our financial standing is also important. To do this job, we must always have a clear mind. Keeping secrets is crucial too, as the executioner will know about the task one week in advance."
Samuel said his mentors scrutinised him before he was finally enlisted for death-chamber duties.
"The hanging is not done daily. Maybe one or three in a year. That's the time we will go to the death chamber. There's no special class, but a lot of practical, on-the-job training," he added.
THE EARLY YEARS
Samuel, who carried out his first execution in Pulau Jerejak, Penang where he also whipped convicts, said "job perfection" could not be achieved overnight.
In the early years, he was made to observe how the executions were carried out.
"I was an observer with the hanging team from 1986 and only made an assistant in 1989," he said.
As an assistant, he would meet the condemned and bring him or her out from the waiting cell just beside the death chamber.
He confessed in the early days he often had trouble sleeping because of his work.
"It is normal to feel that somebody is waking you up from your sleep, sometimes asking for a cigarette or seeking permission to go home. It's the same when you step into the death chamber, where you get a strange feeling like something is passing by.
"After 10 years and with more guts, I told myself dead that 'dead man tells no tales'. When a man died, how could he return and disturb me?" said Samuel in jest.
Mental and physical strength are important for those carrying out executions as they wil be facing constant stress.
As for Samuel, he kept himself fit by cycling.
THE FIRST STEP TO EXECUTION
At the Kajang Prison, death-row inmates are incarcerated at the Abadi Block until the execution is carried out.
They spend close to 23 hours in their own cell unless they are permitted to leave the cell by the officer in charge.
Death-row convicts spend years behind bars until they have exhausted all legal avenues that involve the Court of Appeal, Federal Court and the State Pardon Board.
When the appeal to the State Pardon Board is rejected, the Federal Court will issue a warrant for execution.
The warrant contains some personal details of the convict and the time of execution, which is between 5.30am and 6.30am.
"We're given one hour to carry out the execution. For Muslim convicts, it is normally done on a Friday, after the subuh (dawn) prayers. As for non-Muslim convicts, the time is about the same, but the day can differ," said Samuel.
After the warrant is issued, the convict is taken to the prison director's office where the hanging order is read out to him.
Here, the execution team will observe the convict's character and his acceptance level as all these information are vital in carrying out the execution.
FATE SEALED
"Normally, the death-row convict will know his fate when he's handcuffed and taken out of his cell with full escort," said Samuel.
While the convict is taken to see the prison director, his family members arrive at the prison for a tearful last meeting.
The convict is given a choice for his last meal at RM 7.50.
While the convict meets with his family for the last time, the execution team including "any new candidate for the special task" will head to the death chamber.
They will spend three to four hours to get the death chamber ready and also to choose the most appropriate hangman's noose.
THE HANGMAN'S NOOSE
The imported hangman's noose is made of the finest jute, wrapped with soft leather. Each costs between RM 4,000 and RM 5,000.
The noose, when received from the agent, will be tested by hanging a dummy weighing about 90.7 kg for 72 hours.
Each noose has a serial number and is classified as a weapon and therefore kept in a safe.
"Each noose has its own load capacity but we make our own calculations as well and follow the manual. There are 4 types of noose to choose from according to the weight of the convict," Samuel explained.
One important feature of the noose is the 'killer brass' that will break the condemned person's neck.
"I will ask all the team members what they think of the condemned. Only then we choose the noose," Samuel said.
THE EXECUTION DAY
According to him, most death-row convicts accepted their fate with an open heart, probably because they had been confined for a considerably long period.
"Those who prayed a lot, regardless of religion, would remain calm while waiting for the execution. Only a few became aggressive during the last moments.
"Some convicts even told us that they were better off than us because they knew when they were going to die. They even thanked us when we took them out to the gallows as they couldn't bear to wait anymore," he recalled.
Most of the time, he said, the convicts would be asking for pen and paper to write their farewell notes.
"Don't be like me" were among the words Samuel remembered written by a convict before he was executed.
The convicts could also choose the clothes they wanted to wear on their last day, he said.
"Some Muslim convicts wanted to die in their T-shirt and prayer pants. There were others who chose coats and ties. One even wore a RM 300 pair of shoes. 'Why not die in style,' a convict told me in jest."
The hanging will only be carried out when all parties, including the prison director and doctor, are satisfied with the convict's health on the appointed day.
The convict is handcuffed from behind and the head covered with a hood. The executioners will lead the convict from behind.
"In most cases, the convict's body became stiff, often quivering and we had to use a lot of energy to walk him to the death chamber," Samuel said.
WHEN THE TRAP DOOR OPENS
The trap door on the death chamber floor, on which the convict stands, opens when the lever, called the gear by the executioners, is pulled. There is a drop of 5.18 metres beneath the trap door.
When the trap door opens, the noise reverberates throughout the prison in the still morning, sending a chilling reminder especially to those in death row.
In judicial hanging, the convict's death is due to the dislocation of the cervical vertebrate.
The whole execution process, from the moment a convict arrives at the death chamber to the time when the director gives the signal to the hangman to pull the lever, only takes about 15 seconds.
Everything has been timed to ensure the execution is done quickly as any delay will only torment further the condemned.
Samuel said death would occur between 30 and 60 seconds and the hanged convict would be taken down and placed on a trolley after about 30 minutes.
"I always remind my assistants to respect the body as the convict had already served the punishment. If we do that, we'll not have any problems.
"As for me, I would normally look at the dead convict's face and put my hand on the chest. This was an advice given by my former bosses," he said.
Samuel also related some unforgettable episodes in the course of his special task where in one, an aggressive convict even attacked him.
His is no ordinary job and the hangman's story can serve as a reminder to all of the consequences of tempting fate by going against the law.
(source : Bernama News, September 6, 2006)
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