Execution By The State - The Front 1980 TV Show Appearance

Execution By The State The Front McLaughlin / Rush 1980
This song was written and recorded in 1980 when Florida re-instated the Death Penalty It was dedicated to John Spenkelink the first person to be fried in the chair
John Spenkelink Born March 29, 1949 (1949-03-29)
Le Mars, Iowa, U.S. Died May 25, 1979 (1979-05-26)
Florida State Prison, Raiford, U.S. Charge(s) Murder
Penalty death Status executed in the electric chair
Occupation felon, escapee John Arthur Spenkelink (March 29, 1949 in Le Mars, Iowa May 25, 1979 in Starke, Florida)
was the first person executed in Florida and the second nationwide since the reintroduction of the death penalty in the United States in 1976. Unlike the first nationwide since the reintroduction (Gary Gilmore), Spenkelink fought his execution until the very end. The last person executed in Florida before the reintroduction of the death penalty
had been in 1964 and the last one nationwide had been in Colorado in 1967.After serving in a California prison for petty crimes he travelled to Florida with another prison inmate. He was condemned to death in 1973 for murdering a traveling companion (named Joseph J. Szymankiewicz) who, Spenkelink alleged, had offered him homosexual relations and forced him to play Russian roulette in a Tallahassee motel.Spenkelink's case raised some controversy because he claimed he shot the victim in self-defense . According to Spenkelink's attorney, there was a good chance the sentence would be commuted. Spenkelink was offered a chance to admit to second-degree murder and receive a life sentence, but he refused.
In 1977 Governor Reubin O'Donovan Askew signed his first death warrant, but the court stayed execution.
In 1979 the new governor, Bob Graham, signed the second and, despite Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who issued a stay, this was the final warrant, since the full U.S. Supreme Court overturned the stay of execution.After the execution, rumors spread that the fighting, shouting Spenkelink was dragged to the electric chair, gagged, beaten, and had his neck broken. The rumors caused Spenkelink's body to be exhumed for an autopsy and the State further decided to perform autopsies on all executed inmates. Some witnesses believe Spenkelink was already dead when placed in the electric chair. He is known for his last words "Capital punishment:
them without the capital get the punishment."[1]
In 1989, Ted Bundy would occupy the same cell at
Florida State Prison as Spenkelink had occupied.
EXECUTION BY THE STATE lyrics Theyre gonna give you a number Gonna shave off your hair Theyre gonna give you a meal And then theyll send you a prayer Theyre gonna take off your shoes And strap you down in the chair
The funny thing is Mom and Dad will be there Execution by the State Execution You better not be late Im gonna fry tonight Come and watch me die Its Alright Well Im feeling kinda nervous I feeling kinda sick I hope its not too painful
Get it over with quick I didnt get a pardon Now Isnt it a bitch
Didnt even get a statement Now theyre pulling the switch
Execution by the State Execution You better not be late
Im gonna fry tonight Come and watch me die Its Alright
You could be the next one The seat is getting hot Youll be dead long before The hearse pulls into The prison parking lot Theyre gonna you a number Gonna shave off your hair
Theyre gonna give you a meal And then theyll send you a prayer Theyre gonna take off your shoes And strap you down in the chair The funny thing is Mom and Dad will be there Chorus - Outro We played in Miami from 1980 to 1984 Played everywhere there was a stage,often got the call to open for International/National acts like U2
The Go's Go's, Psycadelic Furs,Missing Persons
Soon we were appearing at The University of Miami
and did several local TV shows at times hosting the entire show.. We were managed by Warren Tepper son of famous songwriter Sid Tepper
Who wrote for Elvis Presley among many others
Our first record "Immigration Report" hit number 1 on Uof M's WVUM as well as being listed on heavy rotation on other college Stations Nationwide.The second single Aluminium Room hit Billboard Single Picks in 1983
The Front the Rodney Dangerfields of South Florida Punk Rock

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[wailinburnin]

Great to see this posting, The Front was soooo coooool back when South Beach was bombed out and the Miami River was full of Hatian boats with stolen bicycles piled high and you would wander around Miami wondering if anybody had a clue and then you discover The Front! I remember The Front opening for DeVo at the Gusman downtown once. You guys rocked.

[FRONTMIAMI]

Thank U

G

[masterandyman]

MIAMI BEACH, 1980:

Flynn's, The Broadmoor, The Bingo,

The waves wash the past from the shore,

From the bars where you'd never find Ringo,

Staggered I home past a cop and a whore. ~ Skip Scandal ~

[massageurope]

Today this song comes alive! sadly by the perpetration of the nations execution of a man not proven guilty....What an instant Karma for the nation :(

The Front was right!!!!!

[gdogg1105]

john arthur spenkelink is my great uncle

[kreed1]

Hi Glenn! Is that you?!

Kat here.. I really have missed you guys over the years!

Music room with egg cartons ALL over the walls! at Butch and Pattys and my house! give me a caLL i SENT A message to ya with the info! Boy this brought back SOO many memorys! Miami was a blast then! Remember the partys at thehouse? ~Kat~