I got really good answers to my previous question, so i decided to ask a new one In my novel, three of my heroes are caught by the enemy, awaiting execution. I have a heart time picturing what a death row inmate goes through. Just like the last question, I do have some ideas, but i would love to hear your take. Thank you all in advance
If you like fantasy/sci-fi - read the Green Mile by Stephen King. Although, it has been a long time since i read this, and it might not go into enough detail for you! Rgds
The MC in the book I Am Legend goes on death row towards the end - worth a read, it's very short (and better than the film). I can't say I've thought about it, but I'm guessing a strong desire to see your loved ones and know that they still love you, and even greater grief knowing you will neither see them nor have their love anymore (I'm thinking criminals). I guess it also depends on the character. A sense of failure, or determination, if they're captured as political prisoners. They might laugh, sing songs, try to spend their last days fighting. They may panic and go into a mental breakdown and get tunnel vision of trying to get out. They may have no feeling at all until they see the wall and the guns.
The POV is external, but have you ever read A Hanging by George Orwell? Not sure of the copyright status, so the link is just to the Wikipedia article, but it's a pretty easy search to find the text.
First off; your title is misleading! I think it's safe to say that someone who was/is on death row (IRL) is NOT the same kind of someone who was caught and awaiting execution by a war enemy. I think you're asking for the latter; the former I can only make guesses based on historically evil losers (who are not total sociopaths or totally psychotic). I can't tell you for sure, especially since there are strange and interesting individuals with odd takes on approaching death, but I can give you some ideas based on famous people I know from history who were about to die (or thought they were about to die) and what they said/felt/thought. Adolf Hitler--remember him? From what I know, based on Albert Speer's account, Hitler was pretty much resolved to die once he realized Germany was doomed. He attempted to reverse it through scorched-Earth tactics but his generals ignored him, therefore he basically threw up his hands and decided he was going to die in Berlin (as he considered it cowardly to desert his own capital). I can't say for sure what was going through his mind, but his behavior is awfully similar to that idea of how a "Noble Samurai" or "Noble Knight" dies; either by his own hand (Samurai) or the hands of his enemies without disgracefully attempting escape (a Knight). He probably mellowed considerably and became very sullen and gloomy; he probably made his peace with his ghosts and, before ultimately killing himself, said his goodbyes. As far as I know, he left a will and said things around the line of "future generations will know the truth" and "though I may die, my spirit will live on" etc. etc. He most likely had an inflated view of himself as a martyr, though he was ballsy enough to not attempt escaping and killing himself so there's that. Nobunaga Oda, a Japanese warlord, who believed he would die at the age of 27 in his fight with the Imagawa Clan--who possessed an army of 20,000 against an initial "army" of merely 50. This is a poem he was especially fond of and is said to have used in a speech to rally men before going to fight the Imagawa at Okehazama: "The human world is but fifty years, Nothing more than a fleeting dream In the nestle of Nirmaannarati.* (A kind of Heaven for the entertainment-focused) Mortality is forfeit once life has started To those who are not impervious to ruin. Cast aside your knowledge of providence Prepare your arms for glory Scribe your final will. Those who stand, head to Miketsu Enjoy your last meal and commence the march" There are other, simpler translations but the basic idea is that life is short, Heaven is eternal, why not live truly and heroically while it lasts before an eternity of rest? Nobunaga, gathering 2,000 men, totally destroyed the Imagawa Army in a daring raid on their main camp during a thunderstorm. Nobunaga eventually became the Supreme Ruler of Japan before his assassination in 1582 at the age of 49 (just a month before his 50th birthday). His remains were never found, and it is unknown if he truly died in the fires of Honnoji, but it is believed he committed ritual suicide before allowing his body to be burned away. Nobunaga was a very eccentric man and very interested in European cultures and technology, even dressing like a Portuguese nobleman and authorizing the construction of Christian Churches (of the European style) in the years before his death. He was also known to be irreverent and atheistic, especially antagonistic towards native Japanese religions. Hou Jing, a Chinese general who usurped the Liang Dynasty and reigned as the "First Emperor of the Second Han" for just a few months before being ousted from his capital of Jiankang (a.k.a. "Nanjing", "Jianye" near Hong Kong, south of the Yangtze). He threw his babies into the Yangtze River before taking a ferry in an attempt to escape to Northern Wei, however the boatman recognized him and turned the boat back to Jiankang once Hou was asleep. Hou woke up and discovered he was being misled and thus tried to seize control of the boat, but he was killed by the boatman and his head was turned over to the restored Liang Empire. Hou Jing was a cruel tyrant and a flagrant power-seeker, he very clearly only cared about "#1" and didn't even value the lives of his own baby children enough to at least try to hold them until reaching refuge across the big Yangtze. Gao Shun, a Chinese general who served the "Wolf General" Lu Bu. Lu Bu was famously a great warrior who was skilled in horseback archery, horsemanship, spear fighting, and more. Lu Bu earned infamy for killing his adoptive father Ding Yuan for the prized Red Hare, a "Horse Among Horses". Lu Bu was considered a "Man Among Men" for his fierce-some strength and massive balls (or "gall" to use their terms). Gao Shun served Lu Bu and was known as the "Formation Breaker" due to his tendency to win every battle he stepped foot into and use his 700 Elite Cavalry to utterly smash whomever he led them into. Lu Bu killed his second adoptive father, Dong Zhuo, and had to flee Chang An for the Central Plains--where he seized control of Yan Province from the warlord Cao Cao. Cao Cao eventually chased Lu Bu out of Yan, and so Lu Bu seized Xu Province from Liu Bei who left behind rather incompetent governors while campaigning against the warlord Yuan Shu. Eventually Lu Bu was cornered in Xia Pi, years after resisting and demonstrating his valor as a warrior, a general, a survivalist, and a man with very massive balls. I suggest reading more about him as he's undoubtedly the inspiration for the word "chutzpa". Gao Shun rather famously was outspoken against Lu Bu's thoughtlessness and recklessness even though he was generally the strong, silent type and had been a consistent loyal supporter of Lu Bu. Lu Bu, although he often ignored Gao Shun, valued Shun for the very outspokenness that complimented his loyalty and battle genius. Lu Bu initially ordered his men to kill him and turn his head over to Cao Cao, who had surrounded Xia Pi. His men refused, loyal to Lu Bu. Lu Bu, notably alongside Gao Shun, Zhang Liao (a super badass in the future), and Chen Gong (a strategist who betrayed Cao Cao and was Lu Bu's Brain for all intents and purposes). Chen Gong is said to have defiantly told Cao Cao that he'd rather serve a foolish brute (Lu Bu) than a Machiavellian warlord (Cao Cao). It IS known that Cao Cao told Chen Gong he'd spare Gong's family and treat them well (which Chen Gong gratefully accepted before his execution). Gao Shun, the loyal general, remained completely silent the entire time even though Cao Cao tried to ask him questions and nearby soldiers prodded Gao Shun to speak. Gao Shun was subsequently executed, believed to be saying without saying that he would not serve Cao Cao in exchange for his life. Lu Bu, however, was a bit cocky. According to some records, Liu Bei (who Lu Bu ousted) demanded Cao Cao execute Lu Bu based on Lu Bu's track record of killing TWO of his "adopted fathers". Zhang Fei, the prefect and general that Lu Bu threw out, was said to have called Lu Bu a "Bastard of Three Fathers". Some records say this was in response to Cao Cao openly pondering recruiting Lu Bu as his own general, as Cao Cao had a history of forgiving former enemies and incorporating them into his growing dominion. Lu Bu, in most accounts, is said to have replied (to Liu Bei) "You are the most untrustworthy/despicable man of them all!!". It's unknown what basis Lu Bu had; Liu Bei is generally considered heroic in most interpretations of this history, but historically may have been more of a plotter/schemer. Anyway, in the end, Lu Bu was hanged and subsequently dismembered. The Wolf General, another nickname, lived on in legends though for his massive balls ("gall"), awesome fighting strength, and impulsiveness while Gao Shun is remembered as a great and loyal general who served the wrong man. == I hope these examples help; they're all men who died (or thought they were going to die) under different circumstances and had different reactions. Hitler was proud and confident in the distant future as being when his name would be restored; Nobunaga was a daredevil who was willing to risk death over living a life of ease and cowardice ("Better to die a lion than live as a sheep"); Hou Jing was only concerned with escaping at any cost and resisted capture very much; Gao Shun resigned himself to his death; Chen Gong was okay with dying once he knew his family would be okay; and Lu Bu died defiantly, demonstrating his testicles were the biggest in all the Three Kingdoms.
There are tons of death row documentaries that you can easily find online. And there are some good book examples already listed, but I'll offer one more in case you want a look into a female on death row. Read Woman at Point Zero. It's also short but a really good read.
'Jeez, I'm going to be dead in about five minutes time. I really should cut my fingernails, wash my hair. Did I have a shit today? Oh, oh...well maybe it's worth a try, a stay of...maybe they don't care, do I care, damn that's four minutes, gotta think about something else but shit. My wife, I love my wife, my shit. Damnation, shit, no...three minutes...what is my favourite poem? Shitting on a shit shit shit dead. Damn, not that poem, two minutes.'
