Death Row
Cost of Executions | The Gas Chamber | Firing Squad | Electric Chair | Hanging | Lethal Injection | Famous Last Words
The cost of using the Electric Chair 31c worth of electricity.
The cost of a Lethal Injection is $600-$700 for the various drugs used.
The cost for the Gas Chamber is $250 for the cyanide.
(The Execution Protocol: Stephen Trombley)
The Gas Chamber was invented in 1924 by D.A. Tuner, a major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Turner begun studying the effects of gas warfare during World War I.
Breathing in cyanide gas paralyses the heart and lungs. The victim becomes giddy, panic gives way to sever headache, followed by chest pains, breathing is impossible, eyes pop, tongue swells and protrudes from a thickly salivating mouth, the face becomes purple and then victim finally expires.
Turner saw the death from gas more humane than the electric chair and came up with the idea of a gas chamber to execute criminals in.
Gas Chambers are almost always octagonal in shape and are made of steel. Each wall has a airtight window made of glass. All gas chambers in America were made by Eaton Metal Products in Salt Lake City except for Missouri.
The criminal is strapped into a metal chair which has a perforated seat. A stethoscope with a long cord is attached to the condemned person's chest and is checked by a doctor outside the chamber. This is to announce death of the condemned without entering the chamber.
A bowl is placed under the chamber's chair containing sulfuric acid. and above it is a suspended hook controlled by a level outside the chamber. On the hook is a bag containing one pound of cyanide powder or tablets.
The cyanide is dropped into the bowl of acid causing a chemical reaction which begins to release the poisonous toxin.
The convict is instructed to breath normally - some tend to hold their breath and soon the effects of the gas takes over the criminal's body. The effects are not instantaneous and may take several seconds to begin. Then slowly the body panics as it fights for air.
After the convict is pronounced dead an exhaust fan sucks the poison air out of the chamber, and the corpse is sprayed with ammonia to neutralize any remaining traces of cyanide. About half an hour later, staff enter the chamber, wearing gas masks and rubber gloves to remove the body. Before it is taken from the chamber a last ruffle of the hair is done t make sure all the gas has escaped to prevent poisoning of the postmortem physicians.
The first condemned man killed using cyanide gas was Gee Jon, in 1924 in Nevada. While Jon slept cyanide gas was pump into his cell, but this proved impossible because the gas leaked from his cell, so the gas chamber was constructed.
Firing squad execution entails the inmate sitting in a chair, he is then strapped in with belts across his head and waist. Behind the prisoner is a large oval shaped canvas wall. Surrounding the condemned prisoner's chair is sandbags to absorb the blood splatter.
The criminal's face is hidden by a black hood. A doctor is required to find the exact position of the prisoner's heart with a stethoscope and a small white cloth target is pinned to the convict's shirt.
The execution shooters stand 20 feet away in an enclosure to hide their identity. Each gunman has a .30 caliber rifle with only one bullet.
The gunmen are asked to aim for the condemned prisoner's heart but it is not always the case. If all shots hit the heart then the person dies from blood loss from the ruptured heart and/or large blood vessel and/or the tearing of the lungs. However the prisoner does lose consciousness rapidly from the shock caused by the drop of blood pressure to the brain.
If all or most of the shooters miss the heart then the prisoners dies slowly from blood loss.
The first recorded execution by firing squad in American was in 1608. The man killed was George Kendall, one of the original councilors for the newly formed colony of Virginia.
The notion of the blank bullet used in firing squad executions is one of fallacy. In each firing squad execution, one gunman is giving a blank, though supposedly the gunmen do not know which one has the blank bullet in their rifle. However an experienced gunman knows when they have fired a blank shot has there is no recoil from the gun.
Gary Gilmore the first man killed by firing squad after the reintroduction of the death penalty in the USA in 1976 took over two minutes to die even though each of the four bullets fired pieced his heart. The doctors had to check him twice before pronouncing death.
Today only two US states still have the firing squad - Utah and Idaho, however both also offer the lethal injection as an alternative.
The electric chair was invented as a modern means of execution to replace hanging. In the late nineteenth century cases of people accidentally electrocuting themselves and dying instantly and painlessly were discovered. So investigations began to find a way to purposely electrocute the condemned.
New York State was the first to introduce a bill stating that death by electrocution would take over from hanging on January 1, 1889.
So, then the saga of how to electrocute a man began. Edison and rival George Westinghouse argued how to do it the efficient. The two men had both harnessed electrical power in different ways and argued how to make the execution the most successful.
Edison argued for the direct current method, whereas Westinghouse claimed that an alternating current would be the better way. Westinghouse won the contract to design the first electric chair. Electrician Harold Brown was brought in to do the electrical work. He himself favored the alternating current system. Edison strongly promoted the fact that alternating current was indeed dangerous. His motives for doing so was that he knew that the alternating current would do a better job that a direct current, however Edison was against the death penalty and hoped the idea would fail altogether.
George Kremmler was the first person executed in the Electric Chair on August 6, 1890. Of the 25 witnesses 14 were doctors interested to see the effects of electrical current of the human body.
As no protocol was in place, Kremmler assembled in the death chamber with the witnesses wearing his Sunday best, his bead neatly trimmed. He was seated in a normal chair while the warden made a small fanfare regarding the first ever state ordered death by electrocution. He made a speech before asking Kremmler to take a seat in the electric chair. Kremmler's shirt and vest were split up the back to allow access for the spine electrode to be placed.
Kremmler turned to the deputy sheriff, whom he had built up a rapport with and said to him:
"Joe... don't let them experiment on me more than they ought to".
The electrode was placed on Kremmler's head where a small section had been shaved. A mask was placed over Kremmler's face. The warden knocked on the wall where the executioner, Edwin Davis was standing. Davis pushed the switch.
Kremmler's body lunged forward and his chest heaved as the electricity coursed through his body. The electricity was applied again as Kremmler was still alive, the witnesses crying in fear and horror. The electricity was sent to Kremmler's body in deadly jolts of current.
When Kremmler was examined after the final surge was giving, his life was extinct and the execution was hailed a success. But many argued that the execution had been less than humane and called for the immediate cessation of any more electric chairs to be built. Unfortunately it was not heeded and many more were built.
The protocol invented for the chair was that the condemned prisoner's body is shaved. He is strapped into the chair with large thick belts across his chest, groin, legs and arms. A sponge soaked in saline is placed on the inmate's head and a metal skullcap with an electrode is put over the sponge. The sponge must not be too wet or the saline causes the chair to short-circuit. Too dry and there is a high resistance to the electrical current.
An additional electrode is moistened with a conductive jelly called Electro-cream and is attached to the condemned prisoner's leg. The leg is also shaved to help conduct the current. The prisoner is blind-folded.
The call is then given and a first jolt of between 500 and 2000 volts of electricity is supplied for 30 seconds. The current is switched off and the body is allowed to relax. After the body cools slightly the doctor examines the convict's body to see if he is still alive. If he is then a second current is applied. This process continues until the body is declared extinct.
Often the inmate is seen to grip the arm's of the chair tightly. The body swells and often the body expels it's bowel. Often steam or smoke is seen rising from the body and a smell of burning flesh may be smelt.
The eyeballs may pop and burn and has been noted in many botched executions in the chair affectionally known in Florida as 'Old Sparky'. The inmate may also vomit, defecate and urinate. The skin swells so much that is comes to the pint of splitting.
After the prisoner is taken from the chair, they are left to cool on a gurney, if touched before it cools it can blister the person who touches the body. At the site of the electrodes there are third degree burns and in many cases the brain is cooked.
For hundreds of years hanging was the preferred method of execution for prisons around the world, lynch mobs and any other angry mob with a score to settle.
Today, only two states in America still use hanging, these are Delaware and Washington, however both offer the alternative of lethal execution.
The hanging of a prisoner is always preceded the day before by a rehearsal. A sandbag weighing the same amount as the convict is used to ensure the hanging's "drop" is correct to ensure a quick death. If the drop is too long, the inmate may be decapitated, if the drop is too short then the prisoner may die from a slow and painful strangulation taking up to 45 minutes.
The rope used in official hangings is usually between 3/4 inch to 1 1/4 inch in diameter. It is boiled and stretch to eliminate it's spring. The noose is tied and lubricated with wax or soap to ensure a smooth slip.
When the prisoner is brought in for hanging, his hands and feet are tied. He is then blindfolded and the noose placed around the neck with the knot behind the convict's left ear.
The trap door is released and the condemned prisoner falls through, hopefully to a quick death caused by the fracture of the neck.
If the fracture does not occur the prisoner strangles to death causing the eyes to pop, the tongue protrudes, the face engorges with blood, the prisoner often expels their bladder and bowel and the body violently twitches. Death can take up to 45 minutes to occur.
Today 36 of 38 American states with the death penalty offer lethal injection as a means of execution. The first state to introduce Lethal Injection was Oklahoma in 1977. Charles Brooks was the first person killed using the method on December 2, 1982 in Texas.
Lethal Injection entails the inmate being strapped to a hospital gurney (bed). Several heart monitor pads are placed on the skin. Two needles are then inserted into the arms of the inmate. The second one is in case the first one fails. Long tubes are connected to the needs and lead through holes in the wall to a room where technicians monitor the execution.
When the execution begins the first liquid is released into the intravenous tubes. The first liquid is a saline solution. On the warden's word the curtains hiding the inmate are opened so the witnesses can watch the execution. The next liquid is then added to the first. It is sodium thiopental which is a quick acting anesthetic and the inmate quickly falls asleep. Thirdly pavulon or pancuronium bromide is pumped down the tube to the inmates arm. This paralyses the entire muscular system and soon the inmate stops breathing. Finally pottassium chloride is added which stops the heart. The death is respiratory and cardiac arrest from the overdoses of the drugs administered.
A doctor is then called to pronounce the prisoner dead. As the injections are to cause death doctors are not allowed to perform the actual execution due to their taking of the Hippocratic oath. Which means than sometimes problems can arise from the orderlies or laypersons who insert the needles. They may inject the drugs into a muscle instead of the direct vein. Often there is difficulty finding the veins as some inmate have a history of intravenous drug use.
Such is Life - Ned Kelly Australian Bushranger hanged
Remember the death penalty is murder - Robert Drew executed August 2, 1994.
What a thrill that will be if I have to die in the electric chair. It will be the supreme thrill, the only one I haven't tried. - Albert Fish electrocuted 1936
After my head has been chopped off, will I still be able to hear at least for a moment, the sound of my own blood gushing from my neck? That would be the pleasure to end all pleasures - Peter Kurten Guillotined July 2, 1931.
Capital Punishment: them without the capital get the punishment. - John Spenkelink - Electrocuted May 25, 1979.
Hurry up you Hoosier bastard, I could hang a dozen men while you're fooling around - Carl Panzram - Hanged September 5, 1930.
Bibliography
The Execution Protocol Stephen Trombley
Page By Korey Sifuentes