The Marshall Project

The Death Chamber Next Door

“It was as though a small part me died with each execution.”

Serving a prison sentence is difficult in and of itself. The deplorable living conditions, the separation from loved ones, the brutality—you know about all of this.

But do you know what it’s like to serve your time at a prison where executions are occurring? That was my reality when I was incarcerated at the Huntsville Unit, where the state of Texas housed the busiest death chamber in the country.

Life Inside Perspectives from those who work and live in the criminal justice system. Related Stories

One particular morning, I rolled out of my bunk to images of Robert James Campbell flashing across my T.V. screen. Campbell was the next person there, by way of some unknown prison worker shooting poison into his veins—in a room located a short walk from my cell.

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