Apologizing for the unthinkable
Judy Eaton studies the final apologies of death-row inmates by Mallory O’Brien
Photo: Colin McConnell
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Even if you don’t apologize but still take responsibility for what you did, people are more forgiving. That still applies on death row.
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LAURIER CAMPUS Spring 2012
Whether it was a big one or a small one, there is a good chance you made an apology at least once today. Maybe you bumped into someone in the hallway, or maybe you ended a disagreement with someone at the office. But what if they were the last words you ever spoke? Laurier Brantford Psychology Professor Judy Eaton has been studying apologies and forgiveness for the majority of her research career, but in 2009 she looked deeper at a unique sort of apology: the one a prisoner might make before receiving the death penalty. Funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, she and co-author Anna Theuer, a criminology student at Laurier Brantford, began reading and coding the last statements of death-row prisoners in Texas — about 300 in total. Capital punishment was eliminated in Canada in 1976. Currently, the United States is one of only five developed countries where the death penalty is still practised (the other four countries are in Asia). However, some states in the U.S. have abolished capital punishment. Not every death-row inmate gives a last statement, and not every last statement is an apology. Last statements can be as “insincere” as “Go Raiders!” says Eaton. If the prisoner did apologize, Eaton and Theuer looked at whether the individual had regrets or admitted to the crime. As it turns out, you can say sorry without admitting you did something wrong. “A person makes a good apology when they take responsibility for what they did wrong,” says Eaton. “Even if you don’t apologize but still take responsibility for what you did, people are more forgiving. That still applies on death row.” Eaton determined that 30 per cent of death-row inmates apologize. Some apologize to their own family or show concern for their family’s well-being. Some prisoners apologize to the victim’s family and show concern for the family’s well-being. Eaton believes the majority of the apologies are sincere, in part because prisoners on death row have nothing to lose. “They can’t change their fate by apologizing,” she says. Eaton admits there may be personal gains by apologizing — some prisoners might apologize to feel better or make peace with their God. While it’s impossible to know for sure, Eaton says that surely some are truly repentant. “What was most interesting to us about these findings