Ron Word has witnessed more than 60 death row inmates being put to death in the US prison system, including two botched executions which resulted in flames shooting out of the condemned's heads.
Word, a 67-year-old (now retired) journalist, was an official witness to state executions, reporting for the Associated Press in America.
Though witness to dozens of executions, Word has said he is haunted by those that went wrong.
In 1990, Word was present for the execution of Jesse Tafero, who had been found guilty for the murder of a police officer and another man. However, the electric chair used to kill him malfunctioned.
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Speaking to the Mirror Online, Word said: "Flames several feet high occurred from the top of his head during the electric chair execution.
"Smoke hovered at the top of the execution chamber and horrified looks were exchanged between prison guards and witnesses to the execution.
"The power was turned off and the flames subsided."
In 1997, he also bore witness to the execution of Pedro Medina, who was found guilty of - but denied - the murder of a neighbour.
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As he was executed, flames shot through his head, just after he had been heard uttering the words, "I am still innocent".
Word said: "In both cases, officials had substituted an artificial sponge in the headpiece. When power was applied, the sponges caught fire. They determined that it was necessary to use natural sponges."
Word continued to report on executions until 2009, when the AP bureau where he worked in Jacksonville, Florida, was shut down and he was made redundant.
The former reporter was also witness to the execution of notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, who confessed to the murder of more than 30 young women in the 1970s, though suspicion remains that he murdered far more.
Of the execution, Word said there was a "circus atmosphere", with large crowds outside of the prison, a celebrator marquee and "fireworks" when it was announced Bundy was dead.
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US death chambers have various witnesses. In general, there will be prison staff, lawyers, police officers and journalists, but in some states it's legal for the families and friends of the victim to be present, a clergy member, or appointed volunteers.
Reporters are usually invited to provide accountability, particularly in situations where an execution goes wrong.
Another execution Word witnessed was the death of Angel Diaz, who was convicted of murder, in 2006. It took two lethal injection doses for him to die and Diaz was seen mouthing words and moving for roughly 24 minutes before he died.
The death penalty is legal in 31 US states, including Missouri, Florida, California, Tennessee, Wyoming and Texas, which carries out the most executions year on year. In 2017, seven people were executed in the state. Arkansas was closest with four.
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There have been 1,469 executions since 1976. However, between 1967 and 1977, there were no executions in the USA. It was suspended in 1972, but brought back in 1976.
Gary Gilmore was executed the following year. His case was highly publicised and documented in Norman Mailer's Pulitzer-prize-winning novel, The Executioner's Song.
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