Page 10-Saturday, May 26, 1979-The Michigan Daily Description of an execution Reporter witnesses Spenkelink's death STARK, Fla. (AP) - It seemed like was pale and took off his coat. chamber after the blinds were raised. but there was no blood. I had expecte an eternity. The minutes dragged on. I heard HIS EYES met mine. They were open to smell burning flesh but, thankfully The first jolt of 2,300 volts of elec- what I thought were chains in the death wide and seemed moist, almost im- didn't. tricity was in his body. He sat there room. A minute or so later, prison ploring. At 10:14, two minutes aft rigid, his hands clenched. guards began covering the small It was the most helpless expression I Spenkelink received the first of thr( I WONDERED if he was dead. square window panes in the door at the have ever seen. , , surges of electricity, another man Then I saw smoke rising from his leg far left side of the partition to prevent John Spenkelink was bound in this the death room removed the che and knew it was over. any glimpse of the preparations. manner: strap, unbuttoned Spenkelink's shi There is nothing pleasant to say about I SAT IN that room with 31 other * A leather harness or helmet and raised his T-shirt. what I saw yesterday morning when people I didn't know, waiting to watch covered his shaved skull, held closely THEN A PRISON doctor listened1 John Arthur Spenkelink was put to the execution of a man with whom I had by a strap that seemed to press his chin Spenkelink's heart through death in the small beige-painted death never spoken. into his face. Inside that cap was a fine- stethescope, backed away and look( chamber at Florida State Prison. Inside, I could hear inmates in the grained sponge which had been soaked toward prison warden David Brierto THE WITNESS room is separated cell block above us banging on their in salt water to increase its electrical who was standing in the death room. D from the death chamber by a wood and cells and shouting indistinguishably. conductivity. On top of the cap there one moved. glass partition. We were shielded from As the minutes passed and the seemed to be a piece of metal resem- Again, we waited. The Rev. To the preparations by venetian blinds execution was inexplicably delayed, bling a wing nut. Feamster, who had visited Spenkelii drawn over the windows. hushed conversations grew louder, - Wide leather straps bound him over the past two years, spoke out in t After we were screened by a metal becoming almost casual. One of the of- tightly to the massive oak chair, witness room. Although the individua detector and relieved of notepads and ficial witnesses told the man next to holding him across the chest and bin- in the tableau of the death chamb pens, we were ushered into the room a him matter-of-factly that he hadn't ding his arms, thighs and calves. couldn't hear him, the Episcopal prie few minutes before the scheduled 10 been able to get to sleep until 4 a.m. * He was wearing a white shirt rolled said: "I hope you gentlemen a a.m. execution. Another man in the front row stood up, up at the sleeves and blue trousers. The praying that this is a just and mercif When I entered the room, the first two apparently to relieve his tension, then right trouser leg was rolled up, and a punishment." rows of four rows of folding chairs sat down. leather cuff with a strip of metal elec- For the first time, I caught sight already were taken by 13 official wit- I BEGAN TO wonder whether yet trode was attached to Spenkelink's the executioner. He was standir nesses, each a volunteer. We, the repor- another stay had been granted. shaved calf. behind a floor-to-ceiling partition in ters, sat behind them. Then someone in the death chamber THE BLINDS were raised at 10:11. far corner of the death chambe I WAS AFRAID - afraid because I raised the venetian blinds - leaving Less than a minute later, a man Through a slit for him to view 0 had never before watched an execution. until the last the central one with the wearing heavy gloves lowered a black execution, I saw two eyes lookir Afraid because I don't like watching direct view of the chair. blindfold from the helmet-like cap that through holes cut in a black hood. H people die. " I will not forget what I saw. I was would send the current charging identity is withheld, but he receiv Then 10 a.m. came and went. First we stunned. John Spenkelink already was through Spenkelink. The fabric hung $150 for his work. were quiet. One of the eight prison of- strapped in his chair. I had thought that like a veil, covering his whole face. ficials standing behind us sat down. He.- he would be brought into the death The eight somber men in the death THE DOCTOR, whose name wasn ed t, I er ee in st rt to a :ed an, No Dm ink the als er st re ful of ng a r. he ig lis es not Handicapped particiate in 1 (Continued from Page 3) Track Club. Laughlin will arrive at the starting line in Dexter early, he added, to try to work out an agreement with race of- ficials. LAUGHLIN claims he is not involved in this race just for himself. He said he wants 'to make people aware that han- Laughlin to 'ee 5-mile race dicapped people don't sit at home all day." One of Laughlin's long-term goals, he explained, is to get involved in a math- oriented profession. He also said he would like to continue racing, partly for himself and partly because, "if it makes handicapped people think they can do it, it gives them something to shoot for." chamber stood back, disclosed, stepped over to And without warning, the first jolt rigid and masked form aga surged at 10:12 a.m. At that point, I checked for a heart bea didn't notice the executioner, but I was stood back. - riveted by what was happening to I wondered whether Sp Spenkelink. dead or alive. HIS BODY lurched.-His hands began At 10:18, six minutes af contracting; the index finger of his left surge, the doctor again api hand pointed toward us as his other chair. He first checked for fingers curled. His right hand was clen- then for a pulse. Then he lifi ched in a fist. Both hands turned blue, blindfold and peered into, especially near the fingertips. motionless figure's eyes. I stood in my chair and saw smoke He stepped awiay again a from Spenkelink's calf. A few inches Brierton. John Spenkelinl below the cuff, there was a three-inch The blinds were lowered.I wound. It looked as if his skin had split, side, into the sunshine. Spenkelink's in. Again, he t. Again, he enkelink was fter the first proached the a heart beat, ted the black each of the and nodded to k was dead. I walked out- ANN ARBOR CIVIC THEATRE Proudly presents IHE TONYAWARD WINNING MUSICAL 0000 00000000 00 00000o 0 Stephen Sondheim's 0 c Oa o ° 0 - Book by James Goldman 0 0000000000000000000000 First time in this area May 31, June 1-3, 1979 Tickets available by mail: Follies, P.O. Box 1993, AA 48106 ($.50-12.5.*See diagram.) or at Tix-info Jacobson's J-Shop, State St. 662-5129. o 55 at Power Center 'U' officers to discuss staff salary disclosures (ontioueadtrom Pageri3 University, Grand Valley State College, and Saginaw Valley State College-had previously submitted salary lists with individual names. Many of the nine colleges which received letters from Hart this week TODAY Residential College Summer Players - Openaditions a technical crew meeting for Bertolt Brecht's A114il and Mat, His Hired Mon May 25, 26, 27 at 4:00 PM Residential College East Quadrangle For info call 764-0084 are planning to comply with the request and spokespersons said they had not sent the information previously because nomne had asked for it. "The ltter didn't present any problems for us," said a spokesman for Western Michigan Univesity. "We complied immediately with that let- ter." LAKE SUPERIOR College had not yet received the letter yesterday after- noon, buta spokesman said that a list of positions, names, and salaries has been posted in the school's library for the past year and would be sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee if requested. Several schools have refused to disclose personal salary information in the past as the University has, and reported difficulty deciding whether t comply with the Senate Appropriations Committee request. The president of Northern-Michigan University (NMU) in Marquette said since he had not received Hart's letter yet, he could not comment on what ac- tion his school might take. He did say, however, that NMU has a policy of not revealing personal staff salaries.