Execution Witness talks about Carey Dean Moore case

Posted By: Pierce Georlett

pgeorlett@klkntv.com

Brent Martin is the current News Director for Nebraska Radio Network, but before he worked in Nebraska he was in Missouri as a News reporter, where he witnessed 13 different death penalty executions throughout his career.
 
"Our news organization believed that we needed to be there, again if the state’s going to exact the ultimate punishment we need to be there to report to the public," says Brent Martin 
 
Martin says witnessing all of those executions taught him how to strike a balance between his duty as a reporter and his emotions.
 
"I think it’s obviously very emotional and it maybe easy for me to say because I’ve been through it and all of that, but I think you kinda need to keep your emotions in check and view it as it is," added Martin. 
 
When it comes to being on hand for an execution, Martin says the actual act falls short of expectations.
 
"Everybody who I’ve ever talked to uses the same word without prompting, anti-climatic, because you go in and you understand what it is, you understand what you’re going into witness, you understand how important it is, what your role is as a reporter but the actual lethal injection protocol of the execution goes against what you think it will be, what you conjure up in your mind," said Martin. 
 
Martin says he doesn’t have a position on capital punishment, but says it’s his duty to report on it for the public.
 
"I know people are adamant on both sides of the issue. There’s got to be someone that’s there who observes it and reports to the public and that’s my role<
 says Martin.