Scenes from Little Rock Penitentiary

(info from How to Save the World)
“The federal appeals court in St. Louis ruled yesterday that officials in Arkansas can force a prisoner on death row to take antipsychotic medication to make him sane enough to execute. Without the drugs, the prisoner, Charles Laverne Singleton, could not be put to death under a United States Supreme Court decision that prohibits the execution of the insane.” (NY Times, 2/11)

That day...

GUARD: “Ifyouareanevilmansaywhat?”
PRISONER: “What?”
GUARD: “You’re evil! We can kill you now.”
PRISONER: “What?!”
GUARD: “Now you’re super-evil. We get to beat you with a sack filled with wet hay, then kill you.”
PRISONER: “WHAT?”
GUARD: “Oh, god. I just soiled myself.”

PRISONER: “Don’t bother doc. My arm is numb. I can barely breathe. My time has come.”
DOCTOR: “No! I will not let you die under my care. You will make it for your execution tomorrow! [slaps prisoner] Do you hear me? Monday is not your day.”

GUARD: “Are you crazy or sane?”
PRISONER: “Moon pies! Moon pies!”
GUARD: “If you’re sane, say ‘moon pies!’ “
PRISONER: “There are too many pistachios.”
GUARD: “If you’re sane, say something crazy.”
PRISONER: “The Arkansas justice system is a reflection of the people who live there.”
GUARD: “...I heard ‘moon pies’. Come with me.”