Dead man walking: Dan Walker in the death cell

While the debate about the death penalty in Great Britain is once again causing the recent convictions like Axel Rudakubana for the Southport Murder for the Southport Murder, Dan Walker begins a stubborn examination to uncover the truth about the death penalty in the USA.

In this documentary from game length, he examines the reality of life in the death cell and ensures access to see exactly what is involved in the implementation of a state -sanctioned execution.

After thinking about his investigation by the US system, he asks or should we consider the re -hiring of the death penalty in Great Britain over 60 years after his cancellation. On this deep and revealing journey in the USA, he finds a system that is disturbing, shocking and as complex as always.

Dan travels to Huntsville, Texas – the headquarters in the world, in which the most active and productive chamber of death is located in the United States. Almost 600 executions have been seen since 1982 and houses some of the most dangerous inmates in the country.

He hits a prisoner face to face and is waiting for his fate in the death cell for over 20 years – condemned by double murder in the brutal killing of his ex -girlfriend and her new partner. Then he finds the victim's son who seeks justice for the crime and believes that death is the only appropriate punishment.

He also meets the spiritual consultant of a man who was convicted of killing a pastor in a church – who is executed only a few days after – and testifies to the final conversations between them.

We meet the prison attendants who have been commissioned to carry out dozens of executions, and those who have observed hundreds of people who were killed. Asks Dan; What is the truth about the famous “last meal”? What is told the inmate when you enter the chamber yourself? And what happens in the 24 hours before execution?

Dan receives access to death from the death series – it occurs in the small, weakly illuminated room that contains the Gurney, in which the occupants are strapped, and in the room in which witnesses observe the last moments – from the arrival of the inmate to the administering of the sedative and then the fatal chemicals that end their lives.

He thinks about how we could feel about such the final justice in Great Britain. And raises the difficult questions about what could happen if the perpetrator is later innocent.

Then a man who has divided the direction of execution hits and spent almost 30 years in the death cell, only to finally be acquitted and released over the crime. For decades waiting to die while he knew that he was wrongly imprisoned. How does it fit back behind bars less than a year ago after all this time?

The United Kingdom is still strongly divided into the controversial question of the death penalty. Our last execution was over 60 years ago- but the debate about the reinstatement has never really been faded. Recent cases such as the Southport Murders have brought the topic firmly on the agenda, and recent surveys indicate that many are for it.

Dan Walker asks that you have explored the reality behind closed doors – will Britain ever pursue America's example of the ultimate punishment?

Dead man walking: Dan Walker in the death cell will be broadcast on Wednesday, May 7th on May 5th.