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optimalsolver

Of possible interest, Texas records death row inmates last words before execution. You can read them all here:

https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_executed_offenders.h...

My favorite is Delbert Teague, Jr. who quoted the oath of the Knights of Solamnia from Dragonlance.

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This is a great read!

Simple crawling of all the statements: Promise.all([...$$('a[href$="last.html"]')].map(aa => fetch(aa.href).then(a => a.text()).then(a => a.replace(/(\n|\r|<[^->]>| )/g, '').match(/Last Statement:(.?)/)).then(a => [aa.href, a && a[1].trim()]))).then(a => console.log(JSON.stringify(a)))

That hit hard. At the risk of sounding like a cliche softy, those statements made really sad, and then even sadder when I thought that all[0] of them must have also commited terrible crimes and caused suffering to so many people.

[0] - Well, at least 96% according to the OP.

I really wish I hadn't open this link. So much grief and wasted lives.

I clicked on 15 and they're all very positive in tone. Surprised.

I found a couple that were a bit less positive, but most do seem to appear remorseful to some extent. None seemed to be particularly extreme, though–I wonder if those are sanitized to some extent.

check https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/tignergeraldlas...

> Yes. My last statement. I was wrongfully convicted of this crime against Michael Watkins and James Williams on 10th Street on August 31, 1993. I got convicted on a false confession because I never admitted to it, but my lawyer did not put this out to the jury. I did not kill those drug dealers. I send love to my family and friends; my east side family and friends. I am being real with the real. That's all that counts in my heart. I will see you later. That's it.

Texas has institutionalized a barbaric entertainment around death row prisoners, with things like "last meals" and "last words".

It's disgusting.

Or, a bit more charitable interpretation is that they are trying to inject a bit humanity in a otherwise very inhumane process.

For the record, I'm not for death penalty at all.

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