N.C. Witnesses may arrive anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours before the scheduled execution, at which point they are escorted by prison guards into the witness room. Relatives of the victim are sometimes placed in a different room than relatives of the prisoner, but not always. Some execution chambers have a one-way mirror that only allows the witnesses to see the condemned. Others have a clear window that allows the condemned to see the witnesses as well. Once the IVs are inserted into the prisoner's arms, the curtain covering the window is drawn back.
Some states require complete silence in the witness area.
Once the execution is over, witnesses are escorted out by prison staff. Media and families may be taken to a press area for a press conference. The official witnesses sign a document attesting to the fact that they have witnessed the execution and that it took place. How Stuff Works Prisoners are strapped to this gurney in the preparation room just outside the execution chamber at North Carolina's Central Prison. Once IV tubes have been inserted into the prisoner's arms, the gurney is rolled into the chamber.