THE CONDEMNATION

THE CONDEMNATION

He had the certain feeling that he had been there before. He was quite sure that he had already walked down that dark corridor at some other time, but it was impossible for him to clearly piece the images together. He had an itch inside that made him wonder if he had finally succumbed to madness. No condemned man walked that death row twice.

As they held him by the arm and moved him forward in handcuffs, he tried to understand what was happening to him. Rationally, he knew that walking through there again was physically impossible. The distance that separates the cells from the lethal injection chamber can only be traveled alive in one direction, but that "feeling" wouldn’t leave him.

When they finally laid him on the cold stretcher, he didn't even resist. Strangely, he felt that what they were doing to him was right. An instant later, thick straps tightly bound him, while the second hand of the clock in the room moved inexorably, no longer in circles, but in a spiral dragging behind it the inevitable end that awaited him.

At 6:11, the three executioners designated for the task simultaneously pulled the levers that activated the injection mechanism. The poison began to flow through his body; there was no turning back. When his system began to collapse, he suddenly regained perspective. He felt himself quickly drifting away from the stretcher and was able to perceive himself, free of restraints. He felt relieved when he noticed he was breathing normally. But, from one of his hands, a disturbing and cold metallic sensation forced him to turn his gaze. He didn't want to stop watching as his body behind the glass slowly weakened and collapsed. Overwhelmed by the grotesque spectacle, he finally turned to look. He saw his left hand holding one of the execution levers. He felt relieved to know that he had never been in real danger and that it had all been an invention of his mind. He experienced the joy of still being alive. Although, deep inside, he knew with certainty that a part of him had left with that prisoner and that tomorrow, once again, he would have to repeat the condemnation.

RETURN