• Symbols

William Earl Lynd declined having a prayer offered for him. Still, there are religious overtones to this execution, really any execution. Death-penalty supporters refer to the biblical eye for an eye. Death-penalty opponents often note that Jesus’ death was the result of capital punishment.

Sitting in the witness room, monitoring the preparation, there are a few unexpected things. Lynd is strapped to a gurney. It is down flat, like a bed. From the gurney’s sides, however, are two extensions where his arms are strapped and the tubes are inserted into his veins for the lethal injection. These extensions do not extend from the gurney like a crucifix but bend down similar to the outer limbs of a peace sign.

Still, the image of the cross flashes through my mind, especially when corrections officials begin to raise the gurney from its flat position. William Earl Lynd rises with the gurney. His arms outstretched. His body and limbs held fast with straps.

Surely, they won’t raise the gurney so Lynd is executed in an upright position? They don’t. The gurney is raised at an angle so he can see the witnesses on the other side of the glass and so the witnesses can have a better view of him.

• Last sights

These are among the last things William Earl Lynd sees.

A gathering of faces in the witness room. Most are strangers, official faces from the state Department of Corrections office. The faces of two of Ginger Moore’s relatives whom he may or may not have known on the front row. Witnesses include former Berrien County Sheriff Jerry Brogdon who took Lynd’s confession and former Alapaha District Attorney Robert Ellis who prosecuted the case against Lynd. He might recognize their faces if he sees them through the glass.

The faces he most likely recognizes are those of the prison’s personnel. Unlike most of the other witnesses, however, they do not look at Lynd.

Strapped to the gurney, Lynd can only move his head and his eyes. There are the uniformed correctional officers, six big men, who press against him to administer the straps. He is in a small room, the chamber, led their by the six officers from a connecting door. There is the window to the witness room. A ringed curtain conceals one wall of the chamber. Behind Lynd is a one-way glass where three officials will each press one of the three chemicals which will put Lynd to sleep, paralyze him then stop his heart.

He sees the press of uniforms and faces pressed against him. He sees the tubes inserted into his veins, the pink faces of the nurses at work around him. He sees the straps redden the skin of his biceps darkening the numerous skull tattoos along both of his arms.