Death row inmate reveals horrifying reality - 'worse than being treated as an animal'

A death row inmate has spoken out on his treatment behind bars and awaiting execution .

David Hosier spent the last four months on death row in a 7-foot-wide by 15-foot-long cell. He was only permitted to leave if he was shackled from head-to-toe, accompanied by full security and had a valid reason to explore the rest of the prison.

He was put on "death watch," a form of suicide watch for death row inmates designed to prevent self-harm or harm to others as they count down to their execution.

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Hosier told the Mirror US that he was treated worse than an animal, describing the grim conditions at Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point, Missouri, about 70 miles south of St. Louis.

He described the experience as "not something [he] would want to put anybody through."

Hosier said he experienced relentless anxiety, never knowing if that day or the next his execution date would be set and battling for clemency.

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Missouri houses those waiting for execution among the general prison population. Hosier said: "We could go out and visit in the wing. We could go out in the wing and play cards with other guys. We can put puzzles together. If it's recreation time, we can go out to the recreation yard or the gymnasium. We can go to the library.

"You get to know a lot of guys. So, you know guys who are on death row, other guys who are on death row. You get to know guys who are doing life without [parole]. You know guys who are in for a short stint - say 5, 10, 15, 20 years."

However, on February 14 - four days after celebrating his 69th birthday - he was removed from the general population and placed into a "death watch" cell for the final four months of his sentence.

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He described his stint on death watch as "totally different" from the general population. He said: "Once they put you on the death watch, everything changes. You can't go anywhere without being shackled, handcuffed, whatever you want to call it, and you can't go anywhere without being escorted," he explained.

"You're just basically stuck in a cell by yourself 24 hours a day until they come and get you to take you wherever. You're confined in a 7-foot-wide by 15-foot-long cell alone for the whole day - your meals are brought to your cell. Everything happens right here in your cell. We have our shower, our restroom, our everything."

He could talk to his family on the phone, including conversations with his sister and nephew, and he was also able to call friends.

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He said: "That is my keeping in touch with reality, talking to people in the outside world. That's what you get when you're sitting on a suicide or death watch - not a whole lot of excitement."

He spent his time watching telly and counting down his remaining days.

Hoiser said: "Everybody, no matter what, is afraid of death. If they say they're not, something's wrong with them."

Speaking the death penalty, he said: "Missouri says it's such a pro-life state, and yet, they want to kill us because we supposedly killed somebody? We're supposed to be such a Christian society, and we're supposed to be such a pro-life society, but yet, the state sanctions murder to justify, oh, we did something wrong, so they're going to kill us? "

In 2013, Hosier received a death sentence for the murder of Angela Gilpin, aged 45, whom he'd been romantically involved with before she ended the affair to return to her husband, Rodney, aged 61. Both were fatally shot outside their Jefferson City home, leading authorities to suspect Hosier.

He was eventually found by the authorities in Oklahoma, where he claimed that he'd been driving just to think clearly. He maintained his innocence regarding the Gilpins' murder till the very end but lacked an alibi or witnesses.