Assistant Executioner
Occupation and position of the United Stars Justice Department - Corrections-
History of Executions and Corporal punishment in the Union[]
The question and practice of Capital Punishment and the Death penalty is a subject that is discussed with regularity at the Assembly of Pluribus. Not a year goes by when someone raises the subject and argues that this is not how an advanced society like the Union deals with crime.
However in the 3000 years of Assembly History the subject has only reached the necessary five percent of votes only sixteen times in order to be put forward for a Union wide decision process. (Not even during the Peace Hawk Period was it tried successfully)
In 2239 it was decided with a huge majority of votes to punish certain crimes with the death penalty. In 3432 it again came to a Union wide decision process and 87 percent of all Union Citizens voted for the use of execution methods fitting to the crime. The previous method of putting the delinquent asleep and then terminate all neural functions permanently was rejected and older much cruder methods were favored. Ever since hanging, decapitation, spacing, nuclear disintegration and Zero Energy exposure and several other race specific forms are the officially accepted and practiced methods of execution. The last form was added by specific request of the Non-Corps, as neither of the other methods would kill a Non Corp.
The latest Union wide discussion of Capital Punishment did not lead to the abolishment of this practice instead a Campaign started by Elo Darna (A Saresii widow losing her husband and kids to a Pirate attack) gained tremendous ground and the Union Citizen demanded and finally voted on making Executions public. 89% of all Union Citizens voted in favor.
Ever since executions are held in public places and have become public spectacles. (Minors and children are barred from these events) There is even a popular GalNet show called “Death by Law” and it is among the twenty most watched GalNet shows.
Some call it a sad testament to the state of the civilization but the practice has even gained more support.
Selection Process[]
Neither the Chief nor the Assistant executioner positions are officially advertised[1]. Volunteers who pass Psych evaluations and have no other disqualifications are considered and after further evaluation are sent to Law School for 3 years and then go to the Union Department of Corrections School for Federal Executioners for an additional year.
After that they become Assistant Executioners and are assigned to an Executioners Pool. From there they are assigned to a Chief Executioner. After serving 10 years as an Assistant, and when positions are available they are promoted to Chief Executioner. Sometimes members of the Justice Department who were psych evaluated and deemed able to do the grim task are picked to become Assistant Executioners in a random process.
Duties[]
Once a Jury has given a death sentence, those are carried out by Federal Executioners. By law Executions must be performed by a Chief Executioner and an Assistant Executioner[2]. By Union law a death sentence has to be executed within 1 month or it has to be commuted into a life sentence.
The Assistant Executioner[3] is responsible for the following:
- On the day prior to the executions:
- Making notes on the inspection the Chief Executioner does of the gallows or execution machines.
- Take notes on the prisoner's last wishes, from the final conversation the Chief Executioner has with them.[4].
- Otherwise help the Chief Executioner in the preparations for the executions.
- On the day of the executions:
- Place a hood over the prisoner's head.
- Stand to the side and watch the proceedings.
- Help in taking care of the final paperwork and other tasks.
Usually a team of Chief Executioner and Assistant Executioner travel from Union court to Union Court to perform the sentences. The team is randomly selected from the Executioners Pool[5].
The executioner uniform consists of a red robe and hood (adjusted to the shape of the being) and once worn there is no outer difference that differentiates between Chief, Assistant or Deputy Executioner.
Notes:[]
- ↑ There are many thousands of volunteers every year applying for the job every year, but most are rejected on Psych Evaluation grounds (Such as tendency to cruelty)
- ↑ In case there is only one Federal Executioner available, that person becomes the Chief Executioner by default and any qualified Union Citizen may be deputized as Deputy Executioner. The Deputized Executioner usually only assists the Chief Executioner in the administrative and technical aspect of the task and does not have to do the actual execution. A Deputized Executioner remains on the books of the Justice Department and can be called for this task any time. He or she can also ask for a permanent career in the Justice Department and is then sent to the same Schooling process as regular Executioner.
- ↑ While it's possible a deputy executioner would have to perform the same duties of an Assistant Executioner, it's more common for them to only have to be involved in the preparation phase, with a regular Assistant Executioner performing the actual duties on the day of the executions.
- ↑ Last wishes can consist of something to eat, a special song, music, entertainment or something similar. A delay in the timing or method of execution is not an acceptable last wish.
- ↑ The identity of Executioners is kept secret from the public and even from their colleagues and family. Officially they are Federal employees of the Corrections Department. Executioners are not forbidden to reveal their identity but it is strongly discouraged and usually they don't even know the identity of their team member. They are identified by numbers and their CITI (The name information of the CITI is withheld when the Executioners Badge is active)