Opinion: I witnessed an execution and regretted it.I don’t really understand now

Editor’s note: Jonathan Eig is a journalist and author. His latest book is “King: Life” The views expressed here are his own.read more opinion On CNN.

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The coroner was wearing a tuxedo. The death row inmate was wearing blue jeans and a white short-sleeved shirt. His ankles were no longer shackled, but she still shuffled closer to the electric chair. The execution chamber’s yellow concrete block walls looked and smelled like they had been freshly painted.

In May 1990, I watched from the window of the Angola State Penitentiary building as Dalton Prejean became one of the last criminals to be electrocuted in Louisiana. His chest heaved, his fists clenched, and I could see his right wrist twist outward. Sparks and smoke spewed out from an electrode attached to his left leg.

Over the years, I have come to regret my decision to attend an execution. It made me feel complicit and ashamed, a cog in a machine that dehumanizes the process of death. However, recent events have forced me to reconsider.

Last month, Alabama became the first state to use nitrogen gas to execute prisoners. A small number of people, including five journalists, witnessed the execution of convicted murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith. They were not allowed to wear watches, carry cell phones, or even take notes with paper and pen.

Some witnesses said Smith tried to stop breathing. One person said he struggled for four minutes with the straps securing him to the stretcher, and appeared to remain conscious for another two or three minutes. The head of the Alabama state prison said the inmate “somewhat resisted his restraints,” but “nothing out of the ordinary with what we would expect.”

Witness statements are important. Witness Sister Helen Prejean (no relation to Dalton) used his experiences in Angola to write Dead Man Walking, which was made into a film and helped sway public opinion.

In 1990, when I reported to the New Orleans Times-Picayune that I had seen sparks and smoke coming from the area where the electrodes were attached to Dalton Prejean’s leg, lawyers and prison journalists provided details. I figured it out and investigated further. Lawyers for one death row inmate argued that the electric chair caused burns, mutilation and torture. Angolite, a news magazine run by inmates at a Louisiana prison, published a photo revealing the charred flesh of a man who died in a chair. Immediately after Prejean’s execution, the Louisiana state legislature passed a law requiring lethal injection for executions.

Louisiana has not executed anyone since 2010, in part because state officials have been unable to obtain the chemicals needed for lethal injections. Currently, Governor Jeff Landry, who has campaigned on the promise of reinstating the death penalty, is holding a special legislative session starting February 19th to enact legislation that would make lethal injection, nitrogen asphyxiation, and electrocution legal methods of execution. We are asking for the event to be held. The governor’s proposed bill would also seal records regarding drugs and materials used in executions, which could be seen as an attempt to limit oversight of the process.

Around the time I witnessed Prejean’s execution, roughly 80% of Americans said they supported the death penalty, according to a Gallup poll. Currently, only 53% say they support the system, and around half of those surveyed say they believe it is applied unfairly.

Since the 1990s, Americans have become increasingly skeptical of the death penalty, bringing them in line with other countries around the world. Their views appear to be rooted in morality and the belief that their legitimacy depends on respect for human dignity. Public opinion has undoubtedly been shaped by reports from witnesses like myself who have provided testimony that shows that, despite all the advances in technology, we have yet to discover a humane method of killing.

Despite this trend, it’s no surprise that Landry is aiming to revive the electric chair. Politicians often express fear and anger. However, fear and anger are not the only emotions that act. Americans now live with a greater awareness that innocent people are being convicted and executed for their crimes. Personal cell phones and police body cameras show that official accounts of events are not always reliable. We also live with the understanding that while legal and community standards change over time, executions remain final decisions.

Prejean, who was convicted and executed for the murder of Louisiana State Trooper Donald Cleveland, was 17 years old at the time of the murder. In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to execute people who committed crimes before the age of 18. The court pointed to the current state of American society, holding that executing young offenders violates “evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.” Juveniles have come to be considered less sinful than adult criminals. Prejean would not have been executed now.

As our society matures, we must resist the temptation to return to crude punishment. If that is not possible, the officials carrying out the executions should be held accountable. We should allow witnesses to carry pens, paper, and cameras. As long as the death penalty remains part of our justice system, we should not shy away from considering it.