The Execution of a Serial Killer: One Man's Experience Witnessing the Death Penalty

One winter evening, two strangers came to within three feet of one another in the execution chamber of Florida State Prison. Edward Castro, a convicted serial killer, was about to die for the vicious murders he had committed. Dr. Joseph Diaz, a young criminologist and professor, was about to take part in the execution of a man he had never met. Unwittingly, the researcher became his own subject when he found himself emotionally unprepared for the brutality of capital punishment. A psychological crash, bordering on insanity, resulted as the author confronted his own feelings about life, death, and his religious faith. This book tells the true story of the events that led to these two lives converging that night in Florida. It describes the life and the death of a serial killer, and the impact his execution had on a witness the killer never even knew.

Dr. Joseph D. Diaz was born in 1971 in Joliet, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in 1995 from Utah State University, a Master’s Degree in 1997 from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and a Ph.D. in 1999 from University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is a Professor of Sociology at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota and concentrates his teaching and research in the area of criminology and antisocial behavior.

He has written studies on suicide, community violence, poverty, religion, gambling, and social problems, and racism in communities. He is often a featured speaker at conferences, workshops and schools where he discusses crime, suicide, gangs, drugs, racism and ways that communities and individuals can combat these social problems. He has been featured on diverse news programs ranging from regional radio and television stations to the Discovery Channel and Canadian Public Radio.