Hidden Victims: The Effects of the Death Penalty on Families of the Accused

Chapter 2: Dealing with the Horror: “We’re Sentenced, Too”: Families of Individuals Facing a Death Sentence

Chapter 2 Dealing with the Horror: “We’re Sentenced, Too” Families of Individuals Facing a Death Sentence The chapter title includes a quote from one of the individuals interviewed for this book. The stories and words of sixtyeight subjects are the focus of this book. Unlike most prior studies, this study is not limited to families of death row prisoners. Instead, it takes the approach that the effects of the death penalty start before conviction, when the first discussion of whether or not to seek a death sentence begins. To truly understand the effects of the system of capital punishment on families, we must examine these families’ experiences at all stages of the process. A recent study of families of individuals involved in capital trials illustrates that the effects begin prior to sentencing.1 A proposed death sentence separates the family members from others in their social milieu, subjecting them to many of the traumas faced by those with family on death row. The projected loss and the sense of alienation and social isolation are related to having a family member who may be guilty of a crime that is theoretically different from other crimes. Bedau argues that we must look at the cost of capital punishment as a system, citing the research on costs of pretrial investigation through execution .2 The effects on the family are also part of a system, not just a product of the ultimate execution.Thus, we must look at the costs of our system of capital punishment to these families by examining the effects of the entire system of capital punishment. From the horror and shock experienced by the young wife whose husband’s face is in the news as a brutal killer to the artificial atmosphere of visitation and ultimately to the anguish experienced by the mother watching her son’s execution, the process takes a toll on families.3 17 Amnesty International (AI) refers to the system of capital punishment in the United States as “state cruelty against families.” AI points out that families, like the condemned, experience alternating hope and despair. The report gives the example of Jay Scott, who received a reprieve minutes away from death, only to be executed a few weeks later. Despair can take a terrible toll. Gerald Bivins’s mother was in intensive care when he was executed, having attempted suicide after her last visit with her son.4 The limited research in this area has illustrated some important issues. First, the families frequently suffer severe financial hardships, at times using their scarce resources to assist in the accused’s defense or appeals. Furthermore, “The families of executed inmates are also violently bereaved.”5 This bereavement is not sudden, however, but drawn out over a period of years. The protracted deathwatch is marked by a cycle of hope and despair as the offender and family members proceed through the criminal justice process. The family members may enact a sort of dress rehearsal of the grief process, preparing for the final loss. This anticipatory grief may lead to distress and delayed recovery. Indeed, the offender’s family may experience “frozen sadness” as a result of the repetitive cycle of hope and hopelessness. This type of “ambiguous loss” also occurs in situations such as when a family member suffers from terminal illness or a soldier is missing in action. However, unlike the families of the terminally ill or missing soldiers, the families of offenders often have little social support and may even be the object of scorn.6 Research on the families of the condemned is often a difficult and complex task.Vandiver and Berardo point out methodological flaws with most research on families of condemned inmates. Research is rarely done with random samples, and large samples are rare, thus limiting the generalizability of the research. Furthermore, the samples are usually limited to family members in contact with the condemned.7 The research described in this book did not eliminate those flaws, although the sample drawn is from a slightly different group, families of those facing a potential death sentence as well as families of those condemned to death. One limitation of the current study is that the sample is not representative of all families of those accused of capital crimes. Some death row prisoners have had no contact with family years prior to the crime. These families may not even know of the charges. If they know, they H i d d e n Vi c...