Dan Walker: 'The majority may back death penalty return, but I don't believe it'll happen in the UK'

I personally struggle with the finality of a death penalty, making a decision that can never be reversed; the idea that we, as failed and flawed individuals, can determine the right of someone else to live or die. But it’s something that people in many US States – 27 still have the death penalty – feel is the right thing to do. It's easy to judge from some 5,000 miles away and say this doesn't belong in a civilised society, which is why I set off to make a documentary about capital punishment in America.

The day before I left, my 15-year-old daughter asked me, "What's it all about, Dad? Who gives us the right to decide if someone lives or dies? How can it be right to murder someone for the sin of them killing someone else?" Her words stayed with me as I travelled to Huntsville, Texas, home to the most active death chamber in the US, with nearly 600 executions since 1982.

The nearest town looks like any other American community with diners, hairdressers, a pretty little square… Then one citizen told me that everyone's lights used to flicker when the electric chair at the prison was turned on. Another said, "It's part of life here."

Nothing prepares for you for a visit to a prison where you know people are put to death. The security is extremely tight, and the purpose of the place is reflected in the solemn faces of the people there. When I walked into a death chamber for the first time and saw the execution bench in front of me, it felt eerily quiet but also loud, as my brain screamed, trying to make sense of all the events that had taken place there. Then I noticed the public gallery, the other side of a glass window, where family members of both the victim and the prisoner gather in one small space to watch.

What struck me most, however, was the impact this has on the people working in such places. I met two men whose job included strapping down the prisoner for execution, and the horrors those men have seen was evident on their faces. And I heard about terrible crimes committed by unrepentant prisoners.

One of the last people to be hanged in the US had raped a woman, then eight years later had gone back to kill both her and her daughter.

He laughed and smiled as he gave his final statement before his death. The warden who attended told me, "I don't agree with the death penalty, but I also don't believe that man deserved to be alive." And I can understand that point of view.

Faith is a bigger part of American life than it is in the UK, and lots of the people I met lean on it to justify the death penalty. As a Christian, I think I believe in the same God, but I follow the message of Jesus Christ, one of forgiveness and the possibility of redemption. I understand people feeling passionately about justice, the idea of a life for a life, but for every eight people put to death, one is released through proof of innocence.

I found that immensely unsettling, particularly after I met Daniel Gwynn. He was released just over a year ago after spending nearly 30 years in jail, 23 of them in solitary confinement, on a first-degree murder charge. A troubled young black kid, forced into confession, he has spent more than half his life on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. He could have been executed at any point during those 30 years, with very few batting an eyelid. Daniel's story is one of many that will stay with me.

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Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row begins on Wednesday 7th May at 9pm on 5.

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