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| Execution by firing squad in Vietnam (Source: AI) |
In jails around the country, criminals on death row are called “living ghosts.” They often talk to each other through the jail walls without knowing the physical appearance of the other. They will make acquaintances by exchanging information on what crime they committed, and where they did it. When intimacy develops, they will play chess verbally with each other.
It is not unusual for these criminals to hear the sounds of footsteps and of the lock being opened at around 3am on a particular morning. This is when one of them is going to be executed at the firing range.
Whenever the footsteps break the quiet air of the jail, the criminals will stir, asking each other who will be the one to be fired on that day.
And that very person usually lingers for a few seconds in front of each cell to bid farewell to their “prison-mates,” saying last words such as: “Take care! We will meet each other and be friends again in the afterlife.”
The selected prisoner will then say farewell to the jail’s superintendents, thanking them for taking care of him, and promising to bless them with luck and health.
Vu Xuan Hong, deputy superintendent of the Hanoi-based Jail No 1, said he could not remember how many times he has received such farewells from criminals during the course of his 30 years in this position.
“It usually takes the other criminals several days after one of their prison-mates has been executed to return to talking and playing chess with each other,” Hong said.
Source: tuoitrenews, December 19, 2011
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