Part I, Chapter 3

Previously in "2nd Time Around":

In 1996, Sarah Griffin walked in on her neighbor, who had murdered his family. in 1998, she was convicted and sentenced to death for these killings.


2014:

Everyone applauded as Matthew stepped to the lectern. Sarah took a deep breath. She had never been one hundred percent on board with giving these presentations. But she owed it to the team to do it. So, she dealt with her distaste.

"Good afternoon," Matthew said. "Many of you know me. I'm Professor Kellie. I teach Criminal Law here and I am also a graduate of this school, though many years ago ... in fact, the school was still in Manhattan when I pulled my all-nighters in the library."

There were murmurs and a few chuckles. Touro hadn't been in Manhattan since at least the 1980s.

"As Dean Wesley said, these folks have visited us before," Matthew continued. "We are indeed honored they are here again today to share their incredible story. I had the privilege of working with them for a portion of this historic case, but you can hear about all of that by taking my classes."

There was a chorus of laughter in the audience. Having all heard the remark before, Sarah and the other lawyers laughed politely.

"So, without any further ado, I will turn it over to the lady of the hour," Matthew said. "Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Sarah Griffin."

Everyone applauded as Grace handed Sarah a microphone that was lying on the table. Declining more help, Sarah took a moment to figure out how to turn the thing on. A short squawk indicated she'd succeeded.

"Thank you," she said. "Good afternoon and thank you for having us all here today. My name is Sarah Griffin. I work as a reference librarian at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. I'm originally from Arlington Virginia ... well, technically it's Arlington County, Virginia."

She paused, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. Even after all these years and making dozens of speeches just like this, she still paused when she got to the heart of the matter.

"In 1998, I was sentenced to death in Virginia for four counts of first degree murder," she continued. "I walked in on my neighbor just after he'd murdered his wife and children. He tried to kill me, and I accidentally killed him. The police and prosecutors believed me at first, but things changed soon after. I spent ten years on Death Row at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women ... all for crimes I did not commit ... at least, not entirely ..."

2006:

... A corrections officer stepped to the cell door and placed a food tray on the slot set in the bars. Nearby, another corrections officer sat at a desk, making a record of all movements and activity on a computer. Since Sarah was in a Death Watch cell, just meters from the execution chamber, she was supervised around the clock. Her every move and interaction were logged into the record.

Sarah got up from her bunk and stepped over to the cell door. On the tray was her requested last meal ... Orange Chicken, Wonton Soup, two egg rolls, rice, and a cup of Sprite. The whole meal came from some local Chinese takeout place, though the Sprite had been poured from its can or bottle into a plastic cup from the prison's kitchen. No one wanted a bottle or can, which could become a weapon, near Sarah. For the same reason, she'd been given plastic utensils instead of chopsticks.

Sarah considered the meal. She was starting high school when Amelia left for college. When she visited her sister at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., they often shared a meal of Chinese takeout in her dorm. The tradition stuck when Lewis visited Sarah during her years at American University. Sarah wondered if he'd ever shared such a meal with anyone at Virginia Tech. After all, he was the youngest of their trio.

With three hours left until the execution, Sarah sat down in a chair bolted to the floor in the middle of the cell and began to eat. She supposed those good memories made the concept of this being her last meal bearable. Otherwise, she was sure to lose her mind.

* * *

At 7:00, two corrections officers took Sarah out of the cell and over to a nearby shower stall. Next to the stall was a bench, bolted to the wall, with a towel and a fresh set of prison clothes on it.

Being all too used to being watched, even during showers, Sarah ignored the corrections officers as she undressed and stepped under the stream of water which some unseen person was operating. She washed herself, using the bar of soap and bottle of shampoo someone left there. Both were the cheapest in existence, but she was long used to that too.

After the shower, Sarah stepped out, dried herself off, and put on the fresh orange t-shirt and matching pants, which had an elastic waistband, drawstrings being another thing not allowed in prison. These garments were the same as the clothes Sarah wore since her arrival on Death Row eight years earlier. The only difference was these didn't have her Department of Corrections-issued prisoner identification number stamped on them. They were just ... orange.

Once Sarah was dressed, the corrections officers took her back to the cell. When the barred door slid shut, she sat down on the bunk and waited.

Half an hour later, three more corrections officers appeared, one carrying a bucket. He instructed her to sit on the chair before the cell door was opened. Once the bars slid aside, one officer stepped into the cell, his colleagues waiting on the threshold. He handcuffed Sarah, maneuvering her arms around the back of the chair. Once she was secure, the officer with the bucket entered. He walked around so he was standing behind her, his colleagues positioning themselves by the door, one holding a baton and the other a can of mace. Neither of them seemed ready to use these weapons, instead showing them to Sarah as a warning of what any attempt at resistance could cause.

Spreading the supplies he'd brought in the bucket out on the bunk, the officer filled it up with water from the cell's sink. He next placed a towel across the back of Sarah's neck and shoulders. He grabbed a pair of scissors, gathered her long red hair in one hand, and cut as close to her scalp as he could. His colleagues watched and waited.

Virginia protocol dictated an inmate had to have their head shaved prior to an execution in the electric chair. Some other protocol required all female inmates to keep their hair at most at shoulder-length, shorter than how Sarah had kept it in the free world. She'd gotten permission from the warden to grow her hair out over the past year so it could be donated to make wigs for cancer patients. As he cut, the corrections officer put the donation into a plastic bag.

When the job was done, Sarah looked like she got a boys' haircut that was lopsided in the back. The officer set the scissors down far out of reach and shaved the rest of her hair off with an electric razor. In another few minutes, Sarah was bald.

The officer next pulled up her right pant leg and shaved her calf, another requirement for an execution in the electric chair. When that was done, he dumped the water in the sink and gathered up his supplies, being careful to account for every single item. He didn't want to leave a blade within this condemned woman's reach. When he was certain, he left the cell. One of the Other officers then came to uncuff Sarah. When the cell was closed, the group left, the officer seated at the table made a note about their departure.

Sarah checked the clock on the wall beyond the bars. 7:57. An hour to go. She sat down on her bunk and stared at the wall.

* * *

At 8:15, a corrections officer delivered another set of fresh clothes to Sarah's cell. These would be her final set, meeting the state-mandated attire for her execution. There was a black sleeveless t-shirt and beige pants. The right pant leg was a few inches shorter than the left. This was so, when Sarah was sitting in the electric chair, one electrode could be attached to her freshly shaved calf to complete the circuit.

Also in the pile was a diaper. At the moment of death, an inmate's body would become incontinent. The purpose of the diaper was to make the corrections officers' cleanup job much easier after the process was done. There were no fresh plastic slippers, so Sarah just kept on the ones she had.

A few minutes after Sarah changed, the prison doctor came to offer a sedative meant to calm her nerves. Sarah declined.

After the doctor, the prison warden, Luther Mills, came to check on her. Sarah told him she was fine. He responded by telling her he and his officers would take her to the execution chamber in about twenty minutes. He asked if she needed anything and left when Sarah repeated that she was fine.

Once the warden was gone, Sarah stared at the wall of the cell. 8:36. Twenty-four minutes left. She still did not understand why this was So.

She didn't do everything people said she did. It wasn't true. She was not the monster they were portraying. She had not killed Mrs. Parker and the two children. But no one listened to that version. She was the cold-blooded mistress. That's what sold papers and got ratings. That's what convinced jurors and appellate judges.

The media was getting plenty of mileage out of this execution before it had even happened. Sarah was the first woman to be put to death in the state in almost a hundred years, ever since Virginia Christian in 1912. On top of that, there was the fact Sarah chose to die in the electric chair. This option was often overshadowed by the more modern-day method of lethal injection. Of the thirty some-odd executions performed so far this year, Sarah was only the second person nationwide to choose the chair. Rapist and murderer Brandon Wayne Hedrick was put to death back in April for killing a woman on the shore of the James River in Appomattox County. Sarah was also only the fifth person in the state to make the choice since lethal injection became the default method in 1994. The reporters were eating all of this up and they still wanted more.

Sarah declined to grant any interviews in the days leading up to her execution. She knew several reporters were allowed to witness the evening's proceedings, but that was all she'd let them get from her. That was all anyone would get from her. No one would witness the proceedings on her behalf, so she had no reason to look at anyone in the hope for a friendly face.

* * *

At 8:50, Warden Mills returned with an entourage of corrections officers, informing Sarah it was time to go to the execution chamber. Sarah rose and stepped out of the cell. The corrections officers surrounded her as she walked the few yards to the nearby door.

It was wide open. The gurney used for lethal injections had been moved aside and folded. The chair was straight ahead. Sarah stopped and stared at it. At a prompt from an officer, she walked towards it, stepping up onto the platform where it was fixed in place.

Three feet from the chair, she stopped again. She stared at the apparatus, its straps and open clamps hanging off its oak arms, legs, and seat, waiting for an occupant. The cap meant for the inmate's head was hanging on a hook on the wall behind it, its wires snaking down to the floor and disappearing beneath a tall, black leather curtain.

It was a few seconds before Sarah took those final two steps. At the warden's instruction, she turned around and sat down. The corrections officers strapped her in, one of them attaching the electrode to her right calf. Her forearms were held down on the chair's thick oak arms by the metal clamps and her ankles were clamped to the two front legs. Straps held her upright against the back of the chair by her shoulders, upper arms, chest, and waist.

Warden Mills stepped forward. He was holding Sarah's death warrant in his hand. Through two mirrored, one-way windows on either side of the chamber, the witnesses watched everything as he began to read.

"Sarah Inez Griffin. You have been condemned to die in accordance with the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia for the crime of first degree murder with aggravating circumstances. The aggravating circumstances, as determined by a jury, are as follows ... The murder was committed against more than one person as a part of the same act or transaction. The murder was committed against more than one person within a three-year period. The sentence, as decided by the jury and upheld by a Circuit Court judge in Arlington County, will be carried out on August 17, 2006, at 9:00 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional Center in Greensville County, Virginia. This execution shall be carried out by electrocution in accordance with the law of the commonwealth of Virginia."

He looked at Sarah.

"There are no stays or cause to halt this execution from the courts or governor," he said. "Do you wish to make a statement?"

Sarah took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," she said, staring straight ahead. "I don't know if this makes everything all right, but I am sorry for what I've done. I hope there can be closure after tonight. I wish it hadn't come to this, but I thank everyone who tried to help me. It's not their fault."

She fell silent. Since she had no witnesses and anyone she cared about would only hear her words second-hand, she saw no reason to expand on anything or address anyone individually. She'd said what she needed to say when she'd had her final visit earlier that day. These people wouldn't get more out of her. They would not see her break.

Warden Mills waited a minute to see if she wanted to add anything else. When Sarah didn't say anything, he nodded to one of the officers. This officer stepped forward and pulled down the metal cap, fitting it on Sarah's head and tightening its chin strap so both were snug. When these were secure, another officer pulled down a black mask attached to the bottom of the cap, covering her face. This was followed by a black vail, which remained out of sheer tradition despite the mask serving the same purpose in a more efficient manner.

Warden Mills stepped back and swept the chamber with his eyes. Everything was in order. he folded Sarah's death warrant.

"Turn it on," he instructed.

At this signal, an executioner, unseen thanks to the tall, thick leather curtain which separated him from everyone else in the chamber, turned a key. This switched on the current which powered the chair. A low hum filled the chamber. In the chair itself, Sarah dug her fingernails into its wooden arms, gripping it like all those who sat there before her. She was breathing rapidly, and her heart was racing.

Hearing nothing out of the ordinary, Warden Mills said, "Proceed."

The executioner pushed a button. The humming intensified, and Sarah's body lurched forward as much as the chair's restraints allowed, caught in the powerful current surging through her from head to calve. Her fingers released the chair's armrests and splayed out in all directions.

This first cycle was meant to render her unconscious. The next two cycles were meant to do the actual killing, with the second cycle being run in case the first one didn't do the job.

Suddenly, sparks appeared at the top of the cap, right where the thick wires carrying the electricity fed into it. The humming became irregular and more sparks flew out of both the cap and the electrode on Sarah's calf.

Then, a scream erupted from underneath the black hood. It sounded somewhat strangled but that didn't lessen its blood-curdling effect. Sarah was being electrocuted in a non-sanctioned way, feeling more pain than anyone could imagine. Her body still lurched forward, but her arms and legs jerked, violently fighting against the chair's restraints. All around, corrections officers protested what was happening.

Hearing the screaming was all Warden Mills needed. Being somehow able to make himself heard over the pandemonium, he yelled for the executioner to kill the current.

All sound in the chamber ceased almost instantaneously. No longer caught in the current, Sarah's body gave in to the chair's restraints and slammed back against its wooden frame. She sat there, somewhat slumped over while the straps and clamps still held her upright. Her fingers came back down to relax on the armrests. Smoke was rising from the electrode on her calf and the cap which now sat askew on her head.

After ordering one of his officers to shut the blinds to the two windows where the witnesses were still watching, Warden Mills stepped forward and examined Sarah. He wouldn't be able to touch her for a few minutes. Her body was too hot for any physical contact thanks to the electricity which just surged through her. He did not know where the prison doctor was, and he didn't intend to go find him. But from looking at Sarah, he couldn't be sure if she were still alive. If she was, she was definitely unconscious and in a lot of pain. If any of that was the case, he couldn't try to execute her again tonight.

No, he'd inform the Department of Corrections, the Attorney General's office, and the governor and let them figure out everything. If he tried to execute her now, he and everyone above and below him in the department would be the defendants in a massive civil rights lawsuit. He hoped she was dead, for her sake more than anyone else's.â??

After about five minutes, Warden Mills decided he couldn't wait anymore. By this time, two of his officers had wheeled a stretcher into the room. Its original purpose was to take the condemned's body out to the hearse after the execution. But now, no one was sure what would happen next.

Warden Mills undid the clamp on Sarah's right forearm. Hesitating a moment, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, noticing that her arm was bleeding from having fought so hard against the restraints during the electrocution. It was still warm but not too hot to touch. He found a pulse.

"She's still alive!" he reported. whirling around, he saw everyone was standing still, unsure of what to do.

"Get that stretcher over here now," he demanded ...