February 14, 2007	Wednesday	Muharram 25, 1428

UNITED NATIONS: “They’re going to kill him because he killed somebody, so when they kill him, who do we get to kill?” asked the ten-year-old daughter of Christina Lawson at the time of her father’s execution by the US state of Texas in 2005.

State executions leave such children confused and traumatised -- and entire families, too. Some are so affected that they are driven to the brink of insanity, a groundbreaking report entitled “Creating More Victims: How Executions Hurt the Families left Behind” graphically illustrates.

It has been published by Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights (MVFHR), a Massachusetts-based organisation representing the family members of the victims of murder and state executions.

“Families of the executed are victims too,” the report stresses.

The pain of one group of survivors should not be redressed by causing pain to another group of survivors. Society needs to address the emotional and physical harm that is being done.

“We must stop creating more victims,” Robert Cushing, executive director of MVFHR, told reporters.

“There are obviously similarities between the experiences of those left behind after an execution and those who have suffered other types of violent loss -- like dealing with grief and trauma,” he said.

But there were also major differences, he said, pointing to findings from the 36 families MVFHR surveyed for its report.

The families of the executed suffered from “shame, increased isolation and feelings of personal failure”. They might also feel responsible for the crimes of their relatives or blame themselves for their inability to save them from execution.

Janis Gay, whose grandfather Alex Kels was hanged at California’s Folsom Prison in 1924, confirmed just this in an interview with IPS.

“People assume violence ends with the execution,” she said. “It doesn’t. Just like with any murder, the family is shattered, with the added impact of being crushed by shame.”

Her mother’s promising writing career was halted by depression. Her brother died of alcoholism. All contact with the families of her grandfather’s seven brothers and sisters was cut off forever.

The trauma can be passed on from one generation to another.

Gay, a teacher who is also director of the US-based organisation Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation, entered therapy in 1991. She says she is one of the fortunate few who could afford to pay for a psychotherapist to help her cope.

“It’s impossible to find support,” she said. “There’s no one to talk to, no one who understands. Food is provided and therapists are on hand before and after an execution for the families of the victims of the executed. But there is nothing for the families of the executed.”

MVFHR specifically recommends that the short and long-term psychological effects of an execution in the family be included in literature and training directed at social workers, clinical psychologists, trauma specialists, and others who might come in contact with such families.

It also calls on lawmakers to give equal legal recognition to families of the executed as the relatives of murder victims.

They should all have access to assistance and support. This should include financial help to pay for medical care, mental health counselling and funerals. —Dawn/The IPS News Service