Arguably the most cruel form of capital punishment, the gas chamber has an interesting history. Here we will discuss that history as well as the facts, function and significance of the gas chamber.
History of
Gas chambers have been used as a means of executing condemned prisoners since 1924 when Gee Jon was executed in Nevada. Hydrogen cyanide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have all been used in gas chambers.
Nazis used the gas chamber to execute millions of people during the Third Reich for their public euthanasia to kill physically and mentally handicapped people, homosexuals and to perform genocide on the Jewish.
Invented
Searching for a more humane way to execute prisoners than shooting or hanging in the Nevada State Prison system, Dr. Allen McLean Hamilton, a toxicologist, suggested the use of toxic gas. An attempt was made to pipe gas into an inmate's cell but was unsuccessful.
It wasn't until 1921, when Army Medical Corps Maj. Delos A. Turner designed the first chamber, that gas chamber executions started to take place.
The Facts
The gas chamber is used to kill condemned inmates in the United States and other countries. It is a steel, sealed chamber that is filled with poisonous gas while the inmate is inside. Hydrogen cyanide is the most commonly used gas.
In the 1980s much controversy arose over the gas chamber, centered on whether it is cruel and unusual punishment and causes too much suffering. Most states use lethal injection as capital punishment. Five states still have the gas chamber option: Arizona, California, Maryland, Missouri and Wyoming.
Function
The gas chamber functions by holding in the poisonous gas that is created when cyanide pellets are dropped into sulfuric acid, creating hydrogen cyanide gas.
The pellets are placed inside the chamber into a small holding compartment, and sulfuric acid is pumped into a cup beneath the pellets. The inmate is brought in and asked for a final statement. Then the pellets are released into the acid and the chamber fills with poisonous gas.
Significance
The topic of the gas chamber is one of high controversy. Even though it is no longer used regularly, it remains one of the major arguing points for death penalty critics. Even death penalty supporters have issues with the method.
One important issue is the problem of dealing with the poisonous gas after the execution has taken place. Another is the barbarism of the Holocaust that it brings to mind.
Protesters point to the execution of Caryl Chessman in 1960. He told reporters he would nod if it hurt. Witnesses reported he nodded several times.
The gas chamber has been called the most painful and cruel form of capital punishment.
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