The visibly offensive offender: A semiotic phenomenology of an execution

Abstract

Starting from the premise that claims concerning “closure” from executions are actually claims about the lived experience of witnessing an execution, this chapter considers how the visual dynamics inherent in execution and the culture of capital punishment are impacted by execution method, whether and how an execution is witnessed, and the identities of the condemned and the execution witnesses. It focuses upon the semiotic interplay of visibility and invisibility in light of Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh’s 2001 execution by lethal injection. Applying semiotic phenomenology to interpret witnesses’ conscious experience of McVeigh’s execution, this chapter illustrates how the condemned body is steeped in semiotic meaning and reveals three themes essential to the lived experience of witnessing McVeigh’s execution: the perception of being compelled to witness, a perception of communicative interaction, and a sense of completion. The lived experience of witnessing McVeigh’s execution was that of rendering “justice” visible and McVeigh invisible. This phenomenological investigation reveals that perception of “accountability” and “justice” is not related only to an offender’s crimes but also to his personality and level of visibility before and after trial and sentencing, and con fi rms that family members’ emotional needs are, for better or for worse, tied to the criminal justice system and certain procedural outcomes.