Story highlights Corrections director apparently invited members of a local Rotary Club

People who are allowed to witness an execution varies by state

(CNN) Over the course of 10 days in April, Arkansas plans to put to death eight inmates.

The state code requires that no fewer than six "respectable citizens" be present at each execution.

There's one problem: It's having a hard time finding enough volunteers to witness them.

The volunteer pool is apparently thin enough that state Department of Corrections Director Wendy Kelley invited members of a local Rotary Club to volunteer.

"Temporarily, there was a little laugh from the audience because they thought she might be kidding," Bill Booker, acting president of the Little Rock Rotary Club, told CNN affiliate FOX16 . "It quickly became obvious that she was not kidding."

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