NCJ Number
125206
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1990) Pages: 160,162,164,166,168
Date Published
1990
Length
5 pages
Annotation
In 1989, the Utah State Prison implemented a stress inoculation program for staff members who would be involved in the execution of Arthur Gary Bishop.
Abstract
Because of the large number of offenders under death sentence in this country, many correctional workers will become involved with a condemned person and will participate in an execution. If being involved in an execution has a negative effect on those involved, the onset of a social problem may be witnessed with an associated liability for the penal system in its role as an employer. Stress inoculation is a process of predicting stressful events and rehearsing the possible responses to those events. Thus, rather than allowing stress, ignorance, and emotions to disrupt someone's life, prediction and planning leads to more organized and productive responses to stress, reducing behavioral symptoms and anxiety. Two to four months after the execution of Arthur Gary Bishop, psychologists interviewed the participants to find out if they had experienced post-execution emotional distress. The results were divided into three sections: assessment of the execution experience, post-execution reaction, and capital punishment attitudes. The absence of significant adverse reactions suggests that the program helped staff participants involved in carrying out the execution. 4 references.