The Old Rugged Cross

The Old Rugged Cross is a hymn whose remembered sorrow becomes inseparable from Herbert’s execution. At his request, the prison played a recording as he was taken to the electric chair, making the song both a personal farewell and an accompaniment to the state’s final act against him.

A Hymn for Somber Moments

Bryan Stevenson recalls hearing the hymn in childhood church services at moments of solemnity, including Communion Sundays and Good Friday. He remembered it as sad in a way few other hymns were. That association returned as uniformed officers gathered outside the visitation room before Herbert’s execution: Stevenson began humming the song, unsure what it might help, but reaching for a familiar sound amid the approaching separation.

Herbert’s Request

The week before the execution, Herbert asked that a recording of The Old Rugged Cross be played if he were executed as scheduled, as he walked to the electric chair. Stevenson felt awkward raising the request with prison officials, but they agreed. In the final visitation, Herbert’s wife held him and sobbed; as officers lined up outside, Herbert slowly pulled away and asked Stevenson to take her from the room. Stevenson led her out with the family, continuing to hum.

The Recording and Its Aftermath

A cassette recorder had been set up in the hallway. An officer brought over a tape, and the hymn began to play as Herbert was pulled away from Stevenson. The song’s earlier association with solemn church observances thus accompanied a scene of intimate grief and state violence. On the journey home, Stevenson remembered the execution’s details and the visible discomfort and remorse surrounding it. In that account, the hymn does not soften what happened: its mournful sound makes the passage from farewell to execution harder to separate from the human suffering around it.