Representations of Capital Punishment in Canadian Penal Tourism Sites

• In Event: Prison Tourism

Abstract

Based on an analysis of field notes from observations at 45 Canadian penal history museums, as well as interviews with museum staff and volunteers, we analyze representations of capital punishment in these sites of punishment memorialization. We emphasize the paradoxical place of prisoners in these representations, who are at once present as the target of punishment and often absent as faceless, nameless, haunting subjects. We also illustrate how guards are depicted as benevolent and selfless actors despite their involvement in executions. We conclude with reflections on execution-related themes found across our data set and assess what this analysis adds to debates about prison and dark tourism.

Author

• Justin Piché, University of Ottawa