The Observer.

Hello, it's Claudia here and you're listening to the slow newscast from The Observer.

This week, Killing Time. In recent decades, executions in America had started to trend downwards.

Until this year.

Since the late 1980s, Donald Trump has publicly supported the death penalty.

One of his first acts in his current term was to restore the federal death penalty.

So far, in 2025, 44 people have been executed in the US. That's up from 25 last year.

So when reporter Hillary Anderson was offered a chance to witness an execution, she thought it was

her duty as a journalist to do so in order to understand why some states in America are pushing for more death sentences

and more executions. Before we start, a warning. This episode contains descriptions of violence,

sexual assault and abuse. Now over to Hillary. It's 4 a.m. on a wide open Oklahoma highway. My producer, Jonathan, calls to check in on how I'm doing.

Morning.

Morning. How are you?

My stomach is in a knot.

For weeks, the only way I've been able to sleep is by blocking out all thoughts of this day.

In six hours, I'm going to sit a few feet away from a man's face and watch him die.

It's called Oklahoma State Penitentiary. The town is called the Callister.

To watch executions, journalists can apply through the state's corrections department.

I'd sent an application in months ago.

When I told friends and colleagues that I'd willingly applied to view an execution,

they all asked me the same question.

Why?

...