A SPECIAL REPORT: EXECUTIONS

THE PARADOX: Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Giannini, who opposes the death penalty, says it will “sadden and depress” him if Robert Harris is executed Tuesday in the gas chamber, above. But he also sees a bizarre paradox: that Harris’ execution could actually save others from the gas chamber. . . . “It might be the incredible slap in the face that juries need, to know that what they are doing is real,” he says. “It will make jurors scrutinize much more carefully before they decide someone should be put to death.”