Death at midnight is a provocative story of Donald. A. Cabana narrating his encounters in Parchman Prison, where he worked as a prison warden. When Cabana initially arrived at Parchman, the prison was more of a farm. Inmates labor was used to accomplish a lot of tasks around the prison. They raised cotton and other crops such as soya beans, vegetables, and extraction of turpentine. Prisoners also slaughtered domestic animals such as cows and pigs. They spent much of their jail time working on the farms except in winter when the weather too cold for them to work. Donald Cabana says that the work kept the inmates occupied, “idleness was an issue facing many prisons.”
When he first arrived at the prison, the environment was tranquil as many inmates worked outside on the farm instead of being confined in their “cages.” Those who broke the rules were punished using a leather strap. They named it “Back Annie”. Some were forced to stand for hours on an open-ended sofa crate for breaking the penitentiary rules. Besides, most parts of the prison did not have guard towers, cell books, or high walls. He described it as a “throwback to another place.” Cabana returns a year later only to find out the prison was transformed, and there were no crops anymore. Instead, a new chamber was installed. He avoided going to the chamber for years; this shows that he was against capital punishment. He believed that a prison is a home where inmates could be transformed and be made productive people in society.
We can also notice his hatred for the death penalty through his actions of visiting men on death row. Cabana observed that all inmates had a common disadvantaged background, and he thinks that it is probably the cause of them being in prison. In his spree, Cabana meets up with an inmate called Connie Ray Evans, who was convicted of murdering a store clerk. The two developed a strong bond, and with time, Cabana learns how humane Connie was. Connie was regretful of his crimes; this act clearly illustrates that not all the inmates are bad people, some reacted at the heat of the moment and found themselves in prison, and they do not deserve the death penalty. At one point, Donald says, “Executions strip away the veneer or perhaps life for both the warden and the prisoner.” He narrates Evans, and he surpassed their environment and their recently casted roles. He says that they have become too close that they have forgotten their titles. Cabana narrates the story between him and Evans to try and show the death penalty.
Cabana bases his story on provoking capital punishment. Through him, we get to learn that the death penalty is a necessary evil. He was not in favor of it, and his whole career was guilt-driven. Cabana also confesses that there was a case where an innocent man was killed. “His last words for me before I closed the chamber door, as I am innocent,” Cabana lamented. This is proof that there are people who are wrongly accused and end up in jail and worst-case scenario, get a death penalty. From his Cabana memoir, we can clearly see that the death penalty only worsens the situation instead of solving it. These could have been trained while saving their time to make them productive members of society.
Cabana believes that every human has a spark somewhere that makes it possible for these men to be changed instead of killing them. He believes redemption and rehabilitation are possible and that it is the best solution compared to the death penalty. Cabana has worked as a warden in more than one prison and had over twenty-five-year experience. His decisions are probably, and the fact that he doesn’t agree with the death penalty shows it is not the best way to control the crime rate or get rid of the origin of the crimes. His book mainly aims to oppose death sentences and show how irrelevant it was in reducing the crime rate.
In the entire book, Cabana Mainly addresses two important issues i.e., friendship and disillusionment. He narrates history basing on the execution of his best prisoner, Connie Evans. He says that Connie did not deserve execution. As he narrates, he vividly to the conclusion of what is written and what is wrong. His interaction with the inmates made him see the death sentence as evil. Cabana describes how it felt to interact with Connie for two weeks before he was executed and the two weeks in the lives of the in charge of executing him. He also narrates about the execution chamber, thus allowing us to feel how it was to be in such an environment. He vividly describes all his experiences to give us the in prison and why the death penalty is not the solution. He wants his readers to see the humanity in the inmates and why they didn’t deserve to be maimed.
Cabana starts describing how well the prison was doing with trees and crops all over. The prisoners were busy worked, and they were willing to perform their duties. Due to their eagerness and motivation to farm in the farms, the number of hired workers reduced. At this time, the prison was more of a correction and rehabilitation center. During his first visit, inmates were housed in camps that were scattered over a large field. They were more of a community working together. With the introduction of the death sentence, the situation was altered. Instead of crops, the only thing he could now see is new gas Chambers for inmates who received the death penalty. The cases kept rising that by 1987, the state f Mississippi randomly selected inmates for execution. When he witnessed the execution of his friends, Cabana quits his job the same year. He couldn’t endure the inhumane act anymore. He left not because of sympathy for his friends, but because he strongly condemned the death penalty and he couldn’t hang around and witness more unnecessary deaths.
Death is a cruel way of handling justice. Taking the life of an individual who has committed murder is the same at the crime itself. Moreover, killing a person would not bring the victim back. Although one may argue that it will bring peace to the victim’s family, it is still an inhumane act that needs to come to an end. It is adding murder on top of another murder, and the circle might never end unless the system is abolished. Besides, the justice system is rigged, and also, many things might go wrong during trials that they end up in prison. This is evident as Cabana says they might have executed an innocent man