The Gas Chamber
Between 1930 and 1980, 952 people were put to death in America’s gas chambers.
Only 4 states now retain this method - Mississippi (which is phasing it out), California, Arizona and North
Carolina and of those only California retains it as the only method for murders committed prior to January 1st
1993. It is not used in any other country. California has executed 232 men and 3 women by gassing, 30 since
1960. At its peak 11 states used the gas chamber. 9 men have been gassed in 5 states since the resumption
of executions in 1977.
The gas chamber was invented by D A Turner, an army medical corps officer after World War I, and was first
introduced in 1924 in Nevada as, a supposedly, more humane alternative to hanging and shooting which were
the choices offered to the condemned in that state. The original idea, which proved impracticable, was to
surprise the prisoner by gassing him in his cell without prior warning.
The first person to die in Nevada’s new gas chamber was Chinese born Gee Jong on the 8th February 1924 for
the murder Tom Quong Kee, a member of a rival gang. He appeared to struggle a little and then lapse into
unconsciousness but as no external stethoscope had been used he was left in the chamber for 30 minutes to
ensure death.
It is difficult nowadays to imagine a more cruel, expensive or dangerous (to the staff and witnesses) method of
execution than gassing. The prisoner is expected to contribute to his (or her) own death by actively inhaling the
lethal fumes in a mechanism that cost a fortune to buy and is likely to leak deadly fumes if it is not meticulously
maintained. Death by gassing requires considerable preparation and always takes several minutes to cause
death (7-12 being typical) after the cyanide pellets drop into the acid. The prisoner generally shows signs of
great suffering.
The California gas chamber at San. Quentin is in a basement room and is pale green painted octagonal metal
box, six feet in across and eight feet high built in 1938. There is a 30 feet high chimney outside to take the gas
away.
The entrance is through a rubber sealed steel door closed by a large locking wheel and there are windows in
five of the sides for the witnesses to view the execution.
Inside the chamber are two identical metal chairs with perforated seats, marked "A" and "B." (The twin chairs
were last used in a double execution in 1962) Two guards strap the prisoner into chair A, attaching straps
across his upper and lower legs, arms, thighs and chest. They will also affix a long Bowles stethoscope to the
person’s chest so that a doctor on the outside can monitor the heartbeat and pronounce death. Beneath the
chair is a bowl filled with sulphuric acid mixed with distilled water, with a pound of sodium cyanide pellets
suspended in a gauze bag just above. After the door is sealed, and when the warden gives the signal, the
executioner in a separate room operates a lever that releases the cyanide into the liquid. This causes a
chemical reaction that releases hydrogen cyanide gas, which rises through the holes in the chair. (2 NaCn +
H2SO4 = 2 HCN + 2 NaSO4)
Prisoners are advised to take deep breaths after the gas is released as this will considerably shorten their
suffering. Easy for the Warden to say, no doubt, but much harder for the prisoner to intentionally inhale the gas
designed to kill them even if they accept the logic of the advice they are given.
A typical witnesses view of gassing is as follows "At first there is evidence of extreme horror, pain, and
strangling. The eyes pop. The skin turns purple and the victim begins to drool".
In medical terms, victims of cyanide gas die from hypoxia, which means the cut-off of oxygen to the brain. The
initial result of this is spasms, as in an epileptic seizure. Because of the straps, however, involuntary body
movements are restrained. Seconds after the prisoner first inhales, he/she will feel himself unable to breathe,
but will not lose consciousness immediately. "The person is unquestionably experiencing pain and extreme
anxiety," according to Dr. Richard Traystman of John Hopkins University. "The pain begins immediately and is
felt in the arms, shoulders, back, and chest. The sensation is similar to the pain felt by a person during a heart
attack, where essentially the heart is being deprived of oxygen." Traystman adds: "We would not use
asphyxiation, by cyanide gas or by any other substance, in our laboratory to kill animals that have been used in
experiments."
The prisoner will usually loose consciousness after three or four minutes, and the doctor will pronounce him
dead in around ten to twelve minutes. An exhaust fan then sucks the poison air out of the chamber. Next the
corpse is sprayed with ammonia, which neutralises traces of the cyanide that may remain. After about half an
hour, orderlies enter the chamber, wearing gas masks and rubber gloves. Their training manual advises them to
ruffle the victim's hair to release and trapped cyanide gas before removing him.
 
The end of the gas chamber?
On Tuesday, April 21st, 1992 39 year old Robert Alton Harris was put to death in the gas chamber at San
Quentin Prison in California’s first execution for 25 years.
Witnesses say he began breathing deeply, and, staring ahead, attempting to mouth the words "it's all right" and
"I'm sorry."
At 6.07. a prison official operated the lever, slowly lowering the pellets of cheesecloth wrapped sodium cyanide
into the small vat of sulphuric acid beneath the chair to create the lethal hydrocyanic gas. Harris took a number
of deep breaths and for several minutes appeared to gasp and twitch convulsively. His head snapped back and
then dropped as he strained against the straps. After a minute his hands seemed to relax. His mouth was open
and his face flushed and turning blue. Three minutes later there was a cough and a convulsion.
At 6.21 a.m. (eleven minutes after the start) Warden Daniel Vasquez declared Harris dead. and announced the
words Harris had chosen to be remembered by. Taken from the film Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, they
were: "You can be a king or a street sweeper. But everybody dances with the grim reaper."
 
 
A well known execution:  32 year old Barbara Graham
went to the San Quentin gas chamber on June 3rd 1955 for a murder that many believe she was framed for.
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