North Carolina:

North Carolina General Statute 15-190 identifies the people who may be
present at an execution. It provides that prison staff, official
witnesses, members of the victim?s family and representatives of the
convicted felon be present. Space limitations in the witness room
restrict the number of witnesses to 16.

The statute defines the prison staff as the warden or deputy warden, or
some person designated by the warden in his place and the surgeon or
physician of the penitentiary.

The statute also provides for four respectable citizens to serve as
official witnesses. The district attorney of the county of conviction
and the sheriff of the county of conviction each select two official
witnesses.

Members of the inmate?s family, the inmate?s counsel and a minister or
clergy member of the inmate?s choosing may also be present. At least one
week before the execution, the warden will ask the prisoner about these
witnesses.

Amendments in 1997 gave the crime victim?s family the right to witness
the execution. The two members of the victim?s family will be
recommended by the district attorney of the county of conviction.

If there is more than one victim in the capital case, the warden will
ask the district attorney and/or the sheriff of the county of conviction
to recommend two members from each additional victim?s family.

If a victim?s family does not wish to witness, the district attorney may
appoint additional witnesses to fill those seats.

The view from the witness room.


Five media witnesses are selected to witness the execution and then
brief other reporters on what they saw. Media witnesses and alternates
are selected by the North Carolina Press Association (NCPA), the
Radio/TV News Directors Association of the Carolinas (RTNDAC) and the
Associated Press. NCPA and RTNDAC each select two witnesses and two
alternates. The Associated Press selects one witness and one alternate.
Media witnesses are subject to the approval of the Secretary of
Correction. Alternates serve when a media witness is not available.

Mississippi:

There was disquiet about the semi-public execution of Luther Wheeler
which was witnessed by some 400 people and took place in the Forrest
County courthouse on February 5th 1954

Texas

In the afternoon, witnesses for the condemned and witnesses for the
victims arrive in separate waiting rooms near the death chamber. A state
employee counsels victims' witnesses regarding what they are about to
see. Meanwhile, prison officials and approved media witnesses gather in
the TDCJ administration building to await confirmation that the
execution is going to proceed as scheduled. The state allows five media
witnesses at each execution, and three of the seats are permanently
allocated to the Associated Press, United Press International, and the
Huntsville Item.

I could go on, but I think my point is made.