A fascinating op-ed on the effects of execution on attorneys and the family of the executed by Sylvia Clute. It includes this paragraph:

For the families of the executed, the period of bereavement begins before the death. The trauma includes shopping for a casket for a loved one who is going to be murdered - before it happens. The exact date and time of their death is known. If a stay of execution is granted at the last minute, there is joy over the victory that is often followed by the execution that was merely delayed. Then there is the death certificate that describes the cause of death as homicide. We ambiguously identify the perpetrator of this murder as "the state." Who killed their son, daughter, brother or father for "the state"?