The article recounts the chilling case of Thomas Loden Jr., who kidnapped, raped, and murdered 16-year-old Leesa Marie Gray in 2000. Years later, as Loden awaited execution on death row, the author interviewed him, finding him unrepentant and unpredictable. The author reflects on the emotional toll of witnessing an execution, prompted by admiration for journalist Elizabeth Bruenig's work covering capital punishment. The article highlights the complexities of morality, the nature of evil, and the haunting effects of witnessing state-sanctioned killing, encapsulated through Loden's chilling demeanor and Bruenig's steadfastness in confronting uncomfortable truths.
When police found Loden, they discovered that he had carved the words I'm sorry into his chest.
Unlike some men on death row, who either are honestly transformed or at least put on a convincing performance of penitence, Loden seemed to me to be an unreconstructed killer.
Witnessing clinical barbarism is not good for one's soul, or one's sleep.
I cannot do her story justice in a few lines, but I will say that she does not flinch from any of the ugliness of capital punishment.
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