BRIEF: Interview with Virginia Executioner

VIRGINIA, United States – In the midst of New Jersey’s abolition of the death penalty, an interview with a seasoned executioner from Virginia sheds light on the difficult process of capital punishment.

Jerry Givens was a professional executioner for 17 years—putting 62 people to death.  Givens admits that the decision concerning how many volts to use for the electric chair was “largely guesswork.”  “If he was a small guy, I didn’t give that much.  You try not to cook the body, you know.  I hate to sound gross.”

Gov. Corzine of New Jersey recently signed legislation that ended the use of the death penalty in New Jersey.  The state is the first to end capital punishment since 1976.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Interview with an Executioner – 17 December 2007

USA Today – Corzine Signs Bill Banning N.J. Death Penalty – 18 December 2007