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At the Malcolm Morton Correctional Institution in Bynum, death row (or the DR) is on a Maximum Control Unit called Unit 5.
Breakdown of Unit 5 inmates:
- Eric Betancourt (white) is a convicted multiple murderer.
- John Brower (white) is a convicted serial killer.
- Peter Cole (white) is a convicted solicitor of murders for hire.
- Raymond Gates (white) is a convicted child rapist and killer.
- William Willy Potz (black) is a convicted cop killer.
- Phillip Schnarre (white) is a convicted cop killer.
- Fredrick Waterman (black) is a convicted multiple killer. He was also convicted of soliciting the murder of a witness.
How do they live?
Inmates eat and sleep in high-security, single-man 8 by 10 feet cells. The cells are constructed to minimize the risk of suicide.
Inmates stay in their cells 22 to 23 hours a day. They are allowed one hour for recreation and about 15 minutes to shower.
Showers are given one at a time. The inmate leaves his cell in handcuffs. Two guards escort the inmate to the shower cell. The inmate is locked inside the unit. His handcuffs are removed through an open slot. The guards pass soap and shaving cream in a cup to the inmate. The inmate is allowed to shave with a modified razor.
Inmates are allowed to watch television. However, there is no community recreation, so inmates must purchase small, specially designed units from the institution's commissary with funds from the inmate's account. Televisions inside the Malcolm Morton receive basic channels only.
Radios are similarly purchased.
There are no computers and printers on Unit 5. Inmates write letters on prison stationary.
Half-hour visits are held in isolation booths. The inmate and visitor are separated by a partition and must speak through handsets. The Department of Corrections records all personal visits. Unit 5 inmates are prohibited contact visits.
Attorney and behavior health interviews are conducted in a larger, open area called the attorney conference center. For obvious reasons, the attorney center is not recorded. Inmates wear handcuffs and shackles in the conference room.
All personal visitors must be on a list provided to the Department of Corrections by the inmate. Anyone wishing to mail the inmate a package must be on a special list or the package will be discarded.
While there is no restriction on the volume of incoming mail, most Unit 5 inmates have been abandoned by family and friends and receive very little mail. Convicted serial killer John Brower and convicted multiple murderer Eric Betancourt are the exception.
Both John Brower and Eric Betancourt gained media attention through unauthorized biographies and true crime bestsellers published after their conviction.
Inmates on Unit 5 have an allowance of stamps. If an inmate exceeds his allowance of stamps, he purchases the additional stamps through his inmate account.
Most Unit 5 inmates are indigent. They depend on the interest and charity of strangers and such groups as the Southern New England Chapter to Abolish Capital Punishment, Everett Miner's Connecticut Defense Attorneys for Alternative Sentencing, and Caroline Lazzaro's Connecticut Citizens Committee for an Alternative to Capital Punishment.
When appeals are exhausted and all proceedings in court have ceased, how does the state carry out the death sentence?
Between 72 and 48 hours before the execution, the inmate is moved to a cell in the Incident Management Unit. The Incident Management Unit (IMU) is a section of Unit 5 the inmates see only once. It is the Death House.
In the days preceding the execution, the inmate is allowed unlimited, non-contact personal visits. On the day of the execution, the inmate is allowed contact visits with immediate family.
After the family visit, the inmate is brought his final meal. The inmate is allowed to request any meal that can be prepared by the institution.
At this time, if the inmate has requested it, he is allowed to shower.
Inmates are not allowed civilian attire for the execution. The condemned is given blue pull-up pants with an elastic waist and a blue shirt with Velcro closure.
At this time, the spiritual advisor may join the inmate in the IMU.
Around 11:15pm, the spiritual advisor and all non-DOC personnel are escorted from the IMU. The condemned is given a diaper and instructed to put it on under his trousers. Then the inmate is handcuffed and led to the death chamber.
Inside the death chamber, the Escort team (between 3 and 4 prison guards) leads the condemned to a stationary gurney. A Strap team of 5 guards waits around the gurney. The instant the condemned lies back, he is strapped to the gurney. The straps are padded, a combination of leather, vinyl, and Velcro.
Once the condemned is secure, an IV technician prepares both of the inmate's arms and starts a saline drip in the left arm.
The condemned is immediately given a sedative intravenously.
Electrodes are attached to the inmate's chest. The leads run under the inmate's shirt to a heart-monitoring unit.
One minute to midnight, the blinds in the witness booths are raised. The inmate is allowed three personal witnesses, as long as the witnesses are immediate family and over eighteen. The inmate's attorney and spiritual advisor are also present.
At midnight, the warden reads the execution order and asks the condemned for last words. The warden may read a prepared statement from the inmate.
Using a direct line within the chamber, the warden will then call the governor and announce that he is ready to proceed.
If there is no counter-order, the warden will signal the executioner.
The executioner is in a hidden room behind the chamber with the control panel for the injection delivery module. The injection delivery module and syringe cabinet are in the death chamber.
Hours ago, the executioner prepared six 60cc syringes. Three drugs are used. Sodium thiopental is a fast-acting barbiturate that renders the condemned unconscious. Pancuronium bromide paralyzes the lungs and stops breathing. Potassium chloride induces cardiac arrest.
Three of the syringes are driven by pistons through the main switch and deliver the toxic combination in a pre-programmed, timed sequence. The remaining syringes are back up.
The condemned first receives a heavy dose of sodium thiopental. After one minute, he receives a lethal dose of pancuronium bromide. By this time, the inmate is in a deep sleep. The final injection, potassium chloride, follows in 60 seconds.
Once the syringes are empty and the monitoring technician informs the warden that the inmate's heart has stopped, the witness blinds are closed.
Witnesses are asked to leave in an orderly fashion.
The Department of Corrections spokesperson holds a press conference.
The inmate is transported from the prison in a hearse.
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