Life on Death Row story
Eric David Peterson, an inmate on death row, is struck by lightning hours before his execution, and finds that he has been given miraculous healing powers. Directed by: Mick Garris. Story by: Mick Garris, Rockne S. O'Bannon.
11 total · 2 choice · 7 major · 2 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| healing ability | choice | The death row inmate Eric David Peterson acquired the ability to heal with his touch after being struck by lighting while attempting to climb over the prison fence. He healed a fellow prisoner who'd been riddled with gunshot wounds to the abdomen, the prison guard Meadows who had a bum knee, and an elderly prisoner with arthritic hands. He also cured the prison warder's 5-year-old daughter of her blindness. |
| mercy vs. justice | choice | The story posits the following social ethical dilemma: Was the condemned felon Eric David Peterson perhaps worthy of clemency after he acquired healing powers and used them selflessly to cure countless people around the prison? |
| capital punishment | major | The question was raised as to whether Eric should be spared from the electric chair because of his newfound ability to heal the sick with his touch. The prison warden pleaded on Eric's behalf to the governor for clemency, but to no avail. |
| compassion | major | In an act of selflessness, the death row inmate Eric David Peterson used his newfound healing ability to cure everyone he was able to. After being put to death in the electric chair, the prisoners he had healed returned the kindness by reviving him with the power of their collective touch. |
| facing one's own execution | major | The story follows Eric David Peterson as he acquires miraculous healing powers in the 24 hours before his date with the electric chair. |
| human vs. captivity | major | The prisoners made a daring escape attempt that ended in utter failure. The story is generally set in a prison. |
| law enforcement | major | The prison guard Meadows took it upon himself to let everyone in the prison know that the condemned inmate, Eric David Peterson, had the power to heal with his touch. In general, the story is set in a prison and shows guards interacting with prisoners. |
| resurrection of the dead | major | After being executed in the electric chair, Eric was somehow brought back to life by thankful prisoners he had earlier cured of various ailments. |
| what it is like in prison | major | The story takes place in a stereotypical United States prison. |
| blindness | minor | The prison warden's 5-year-old daughter was blind. |