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Title LANGUAGE IN THE PROXIMITY OF DEATH: AN APPRAISAL ANALYSIS OF DEATH ROW STATEMENTS

Author(s) AOOJ SHAKEEL

Abstract Death row utterances or death row remarks are the final words a person utters before being executed. Usually, these emotive and succinct remarks occur in a correctional setting. They are used to express love, express regret, express forgiveness, declare one's innocence, and express one's opinions. Since it is the person's last chance to speak and is influenced by their approaching death, this kind of speech is special. These words can be addressed to the victim's own family, their own family, the public, or even God. They are very individualized, but they are also impacted by the rules and atmosphere of the jail. The majority of this study is qualitative, interpretative, and exploratory. The purpose of this study is to look into how death row inmates express their emotions, beliefs, and psychological responses to their impending death in their farewell speeches. By examining the language used in 102 final comments (out of which the ones which say nothing are excluded), the study hopes to reveal underlying coping mechanisms, cultural and personal influences, and the mental processes people go through when faced with death. The study also seeks to connect these data to psychological theories such as the Terror Management Theory developed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski in 1986, Appraisal Theory formalized by J.R. Martin and P.R.R. White in 2005 and Death Coping Model introduced by Elisabeth KüblerRoss in 1969 in order to better understand how people handle stressful situations. This goal connects the five objectives since they are all related to understanding, analyzing, and assessing the language used by death row convicts as a coping strategy. This study makes important theoretical and applied contributions. Theoretically, it broadens the use of Appraisal Theory in the emotionally charged discourse surrounding the death penalty by providing a linguistic framework for examining stories about death. Additionally, it illustrates the ways in which TMT and Death Coping Models engage with evaluative discourse, offering a more sophisticated comprehension of how people use language to cope with mortality. v Each of the research goals directly supports the study's primary objective, which is to find out how death row inmates use language to cope with their upcoming execution. The initial purpose is on how convicts express their feelings through language in order to gain a better understanding of this process. By linking psychological reactions to theoretical models such as the Terror Management Theory, Appraisal Theory, and Death Coping Model, the second objective aids in providing an organized psychological framework for understanding the inmates' conduct. The third purpose examines the cultural, religious, and individual impacts on these final assertions to investigate the belief systems and values that inform coping strategies. The fourth objective draws attention to the relationship between psychological processes and language use, highlighting the ways in which spoken language reflects more profound emotional and mental coping mechanisms. The fifth goal looks at how prisoners make meaning of their final moments to provide insight into how individuals create existential meaning in the face of death. Together, these objectives offer a comprehensive understanding of death row utterances as a unique expression of people's responses to death. The findings of the study show how effective language is for psychological coping, meaning- making, and emotional expression when faced with death. This suggests that by serving as a mirror and a coping strategy for extreme existential stress, language might provide information about human fragility and resilience. Future research should examine how male and female inmates differ in their final statements' issue substance, coping strategies, and emotional expressiveness. This might draw attention to gendered patterns in the ways that people construct meaning and cope with death. Several important considerations pertaining to accessibility, consistency, and the scope of the study led to the choice to use data from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice instead of death row statements from Pakistani people. First off, Pakistan doesn't have a centralized, openly accessible database of final statements like the Texas Department of Criminal Justice does. Second, because the study had to be done in English, it was difficult to use Pakistani death row statements because of language barriers, inconsistent translations, or a lack of original English transcripts. The majority of death row statements in Pakistan, if they are available at all, are probably in regional languages or Urdu, which makes it difficult to guarantee the veracity and correctness of translated material for linguistic or discourse analysis.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

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Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2025-08-25

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