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Barry, Dan. Chronicle of an American Execution. Norton Sampler: Short Essays

for Composition. Cooley, Thomas. New York. W.W. Norton & Company. 2010.
9780393929355. pp. 66-69.

Date prepared: 08/09/2010

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 Barry / Chronicle of an American Execution ~ 67

kind of clinical dignity to the electrocution of a human being, yet read

DAN BARRY like instructions for jump-starting a car engine. Remember: "A fire
extinguisher is located in the building and is near the electric chair as a
CHRONICLE OF AN precaution. "
Behold Daryl Holton. He is 45. Ten years ago he shot his four
AMERICAN EXECUTION young children in his uncle's auto-repair garage, two at a time, through
the heart. He used their very innocence to kill them, telling them not to
peek, daddy has a surprise. After he was done he turned himself in, say­
Jan Barry (b. 1958) is a reporter and columnist for tbe New Yor' 1'10".l ing he wanted to report a "homicide times four."
n 1994, Barry and bis investigative team at tbe Providence Jaurna ­ In seeking the execution of this Army veteran, now blinking in the 6

gulletin won a pulitzer Prize for a series of articles about corruption in cold, bright room, the state argued that Mr. Holton committed premed­
the Rhode Island court system. In 1995, BarrY joined the staff of the itated murder, times four, to punish his ex-wife for obtaining an order of
1,,",S, becoming a major contributor to the newspaper's award-winning protection and for moving away. He killed his children, so he must be
coverage of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. "Chronicle of an American killed.
Execution," first published in 2007, is from Barry's "This Land" col­
In defending the life of this man-now pursing his lips, about all
umn in the 1,10". Reporting from Nashville, he gives a moment-by­ that he can move-his advocates argued that he believed his children

moment description of an execution by electrocution-the first use of

were better off dead than living in a profoundly troubled home; that he
actually felt relief after pulling a tarpaulin over those four small bodies.
the electric chair in the state of Tennessee since 1960.
He killed his children, so he must be mentally ill.
All the while, Mr. Holton adhered to a peculiar code of conduct
that vexed all sides. Those fighting for his life often did so against his
will. Those seeking his remorse were unrewarded.
he window blinds to the execution chamber are raised shortly Just days ago he said the crimes for which he was convicted war­
after 1 in the morning, in accordance with the Procedures for
TElectrocution in the State of Tennessee. And the condemned man is
ranted the death penalty, but he pointedly removed himself from that
e,quation. Perhaps to suggest the killings were justified; perhaps to keep
things theoretical. No matter. Now, at 1:09 A.M. on Wednesday, Septem­
revealed.!
He looks almost like a young child buckled into a car seat, with hiS per 12, 2007, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, it is
closed eyes and freshly shaved head, with the way the black restraints of .about to happen.
the electric chair crisscross at his torso. He yawns a wide-mouthed yawn, The warden, Ricky J. Bell, stands before him, supervising the first 10
as though just stirring from an interrupted dream, and opens his eyes. ctrocution in Tennessee since 1960. Prison officials had hoped that
, Holton would choose to die by lethal injection, and had been gently
He is moments from dying.
The cause of death will be cardiac arrest. Every step toward t inding him of this option. 2 But he maintained that since electrocu­
end will follow those written state procedures, which strive to lend
nnessee adopted lethal injection as its official method of capital punishment in
1. Family members of the prisoner and victim, prison and medical personnel, mem those who committed capital crimes when electrocution was still the official form
of the ""gy, wi,"",,,, ollici,lIy d",igu,red by the ,tote, wd ""dia «pc",u"ci' ishment can choose to die by either method.

permitted to witness executions.

~ 66 ~
 68 ~ Description
Barry / Chronicle of an American Execution ~ 69

tion was the only form of capital punishment at the time of his crimes,
then electrocution it should be. he arms of the chair, whose oaken pieces are said to have once belonged
11 to the old electric chair, and before that, to the gallows.
Before the raising of those window blinds, Mr. Holton had started
It is 1:17. Procedures require a five-minute pause at this point. A
to hyperventilate, and Mr. Bell had sought to calm him by slightly loos­
prison official off to the side watches a digital clock on the wall while
ening the straps. But now it is 1:10, the blinds are up, the clock is run­
chewing something, perhaps gum, perhaps to calm his nerves. Two min­
ning. In accordance with procedures, the warden asks if the condemned
has something to say. utes, three, four, the only things moving in the room are his eyes and his
12 jaw, five. The window blinds drop, and a physician begins a private
The inmate's response is so slurred by his hyperventilating that he
examination.
is asked to repeat what he has been planning to say for a long time. He
says again, "Two words: I do." Later, in the foggy darkness outside the prison, someone will read
13 a statement from the ex-wife, Crystal Holton, in which she says that all
This could be a joke of some kind, a cosmic conundrum, or maybe
the anger and hatred can finally leave her, to be replaced by a child's
Mr. Holton's acceptance of whatever awaits him after life. It could be
innocent love-"love times four."
the use of his marital vow as a parting shot at his ex-wife, or perhaps a
Later, well after sunrise, Kelly Gleason, one of the lawyers who
twisted reaffirmation of his belief in the sanctity of marriage and family.
14 fought to keep Mr. Holton alive, will set aside her mourning for a friend
The warden asks, "That it?" The inmate nods.
15 and give in to fitful sleep.
Two corrections officers step forward to place a sponge soaked in
Later, in the hot afternoon some fifty miles to the south, four pol­
salted water on Mr. Holtons bald scalp to enhance conductivity. Next
ished tombstones will again cast shadows toward a playground at the
comes the headpiece, which the procedures describe as a "leather cranial
bottom of a cemetery's hill. Arranged in order of age, the stones bear the
cap lined with copper mesh inside." Finally, a power cable, not unlike
names of the four Holton children: Stephen, 12, Brent, 10, Eric, 6, and
the cable to your television, is attached to the headpiece.
16 Kayla, 4.
The COpper mesh pressing wet sponge sends salty water stream­
But first confirmation, in accordance with procedures. And now the
ing down the inmate's ashen face, soaking his white cotton shirt to
disembodied voice of Tennessee: "Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the
the pale skin beneath. When officers try to blot him dry with white
legal execution of Daryl Holton. The time of death, 1:25. Please exit."
towels, Mr. Holton says not to worry about it, "ain't gonna matter
anyway."
17
After the white towels comes a black shroud to be attached to the ~ FOR DISCUSSION ~

headpiece. It is intended in part to protect the dignity of the inmate,

now strapped, soaked and about to die before witnesses. His final
expression, then, will be his own.
18
With the push of a button on a console labeled Electric Chair Con­
trol, 1,750 volts bolt through Mr. Holton's body, jerking it up and drop­
ping it like a sack of earth. The black shroud offers the slightest flutter,
and witnesses cannot tell whether they have just heard a machine's
whoosh or a man's sigh.
19
Fifteen seconds later, another bolt, and Mr. Holton's body rises
even higher, slumps even lower. His reddened hands remain gripped to
1. According to the state of Tennessee, why did Daryl Holton murder his four
children? According to his defenders, why did he do it?
2. Why did Holton choose to be executed by electrocution rather than "lethal
injection" (lO)?
3. Dan Barry says Holton adhered to a "peculiar code of conduct" right up to
the moment of his death (8). What "code of conduct" did Holton follow? Why
does Barry call it "peculiar"?
4. Why did Kelly Gleason fight to prevent Holton's execution even though she
and other "advocates" were acting against his will (7, 8)? Were they right to do
so? Why or why not?

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