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Author : Leuchter Frederick A.
Title : Execution by gas chamber Mississippi
Year : 1989

Link download : Leuchter_Frederick_A_-_Execution_by_gas_chamber_Mississippi.zip

2.000 BACKGROUND. The principal investigator and author of this report is a specialist in the design and fabrication of execution hardware and specifically has worked on and designed hardware in the United States utilized for the execution of condemned persons by means of hydrogen cyanide gas. Additionally, the investigator has constructed hardware for electrocution, lethal injection and hanging. 2.001. 2.002 The investigator has inspected the Gas Execution Chamber at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, has considered drawings of the chamber, consulted with the skilled operators of the chamber, studied the execution protocol utilized with the chamber and made drawings, and photographs of the chamber. 2.003 The investigator did not design or construct the Gas Execution Chamber at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, nor is he responsible for the protocol utilized there. This chamber was built in the early 1950's by the Eaton Metal Products Company of Denver, Colorado who constructed this gas chamber as they did most of the other chambers in the United States. In the construction of this chamber they utilized design criteria first developed and used in the early 1920's for the Arizona Gas Chamber. The protocol used is wholly Eaton's, with the exception of special tailoring by the states. 3.000 SCOPE. The scope of this report includes a physical inspection and quantitative data obtained at the Death House at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, original drawings and specifications and protocol supplied by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, first hand operational information supplied by operating personnel and the investigators own personal knowledge and work in the field. 3.001 Utilizing all of the above data, the investigator has limited the focus of this study to the development of a criteria package for the understanding, design, fabrication and use of execution gas chambers. This package is intended for use by those persons and scholars who would study the history and use of execution gas chambers. 4.000 HISTORY. The history of the use of hydrogen cyanide gas for execution purposes and the development of the gas chamber is strictly a United States phenomenon. Prior to 1890 hanging was the legally utilized procedure for execution in the United States. In an attempt to find a more humane procedure, the New York State Assembly accepted electrocution. Many other states followed by accepting electrocution. Others were not satisfied, for one reason or another, and sought a more humane procedure. Because hydrogen cyanide gas was being utilized for fumigation purposes, some states began to look at the possibility of gassing. ...