Execution of Arlen Bitterbuck

Arlen Bitterbuck, a Cherokee elder known as The Chief, is executed for killing a man in a drunken fight over a pair of boots. The execution is rehearsed with Old Toot-Toot as a stand-in, and the actual event goes smoothly. Bitterbuck walks the Green Mile with dignity, prays with Brother Schuster, and is electrocuted without incident. Afterward, Percy Wetmore slaps the dead man's cheek and makes a crude joke, angering Brutus Howell. The execution establishes the routine of E Block and highlights the tension between the professional guards and Percy's callousness. Paul Edgecombe notes that this was one of the few executions he felt went well.