Love and regret — death row’s final emotions

THE mental states of death row prisoners in the moments before they are executed have been revealed in a first of its kind study by two Irish psychiatrists.

The study, published in the US, is based on prisoners’ final statements and shows the most common emotions expressed by inmates before they are subjected to death are love and regret, along with expressions of spirituality.

Psychiatrists Dr Sharon Foley from St Vincent’s Hospital and Dr Brendan Kelly from the Mater Hospital in Dublin published the findings in the latest edition of the American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry.