Gas chamber

(Redirected from Gas chambers)

Categories: Holocaust | Nazi Germany | Death penalty

A gas chamber is a means of execution whereby a poisonous gas is introduced into a hermetically sealed chamber. When the condemned breathes this gas, death follows. Hydrogen cyanide, or more rarely carbon monoxide, are the typical agents.

Gas chambers have been used for animal euthanasia in the past, but most jurisdictions no longer permit this.

The type of gas the Nazis used in Germany was called: Zyklon B

Contents 1 Method 1.1 Initiation Reaction 1.2 Cleanup Reaction 2 USA 3 Nazi Germany 4 Other nations 5 Other meanings 6 External links

Method

Initiation Reaction

KCN (s) + H₂SO₄ (aq) --> HCN (g) + K₂SO₄

Cleanup Reaction

HCN + NH3 --> NH₄⁺ + CN^-

Generally speaking, in the United States the execution protocol is as follows: First, the chemical technician will place a quantity of potassium cyanide (KCN) pellets into a compartment directly below the chair in the chamber. The condemned person is then brought into the chamber, strapped into the chair, and the airtight chamber is sealed. At this point the chemical technician will pour a quantity of concentrated sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) down a tube that leads to a small holding tank directly below the compartment containing the cyanide pellets. The curtain is then opened, allowing the witnesses to observe the inside of the chamber. The prison warden will then ask the condemned individual if he or she wishes to make a final statement. Following this, the executioner(s) will each throw a switch/lever that causes the cyanide pellets to drop into the sulfuric acid, initiating a chemical reaction that generates hydrogen cyanide (HCN) gas. The condemned individual can see the visible gas, and is advised to take a deep breath to speed unconsciousness in order to prevent unnecessary suffering. Death from hydrogen cyanide is usually painful and unpleasant, although theoretically the condemned individual should lose consciousness before dying. The chamber is then purged of the gas through special scrubbers, and must be neutralized with anhydrous ammonia (NH₃) before it can be opened. Finally, the prison doctor examines the individual in order to officially declare that he or she is dead. Following this, the body is removed from the chamber and released to the next of kin.

One of the problems with the gas chamber is the inherent danger of dealing with such a toxic gas. Ironically the gas used to cleanse the chamber afterwards, anhydrous ammonia, is also very toxic, as is the contaminated acid that must be drained and disposed of. There have been several documented instances where undertakers have been injured because the gas was still present in the individual's body following death.

USA

Gas chambers have been used for capital punishment in the United States in the past to execute criminals, especially convicted murderers. Five states (Wyoming, California, Maryland, Missouri, and Arizona) technically retain this method, but all allow lethal injection as an alternative. A federal court in California has declared this method of execution a "cruel and unusual punishment". In fact, it is highly unlikely that any of these states will ever again utilize the gas chamber, unless an inmate specifically requests to die by this method. The use of the gas chamber was also controversial because of the use of large chambers to kill millions in Nazi concentration camps. Most states have now switched to methods considered more humane by officials, such as lethal injection.

The first person to be executed in the United States via gas chamber was Gee Jon, on February 8, 1924 in Nevada. As of 2005, the last person to be executed in the gas chamber was German national Walter LaGrand, whom Arizona executed on March 4, 1999.

As with all judicially mandated executions in the United States, witnesses are present during the procedure. These include members of the media, citizen witnesses, prison/legal/spiritual staff, and certain family members.

Nazi Germany

More notoriously, gas chambers were used in the Nazi Third Reich during the 1930s as part of the so-called "public euthanasia program" aimed at eliminating physically and intellectually disabled people, and later the mentally ill. At that time, the preferred gas was carbon monoxide, often provided by the exhaust fumes of cars and trucks.

Later, during the Holocaust, gas chambers were modified and enhanced to accept even larger groups as part of the Nazi policy of genocide against Jews, Gypsies, and others. Through experimentation in September 1941 Zyklon B (hydrogen cyanide absorbed into various solid substrates) was found to be most efficient. Nazi gas chambers in mobile vans and at least eight concentration camps (see also: extermination camp) were used to kill several million people between 1941 and 1945; some of them could kill 2500 people at once. The gas chambers were dismantled when Red Army troops got close.

Other nations

Recent reports indicate that gas chambers are used by North Korea both as punishment and for testing of lethal agents on humans (see Guardian link below).

Other meanings

The word gas chamber has been used for:

• A chamber filled with teargas, used to train men in use of gasmasks and in resisting the effects of teargas.
• The float chambers in the shells of some cephalopods.
• Alcoholic drink consisting of absinthe and Sambuca consumed by two people using two shot glasses and a wine glass.

External links

• Gas chamber article at Simon Wiesenthal Center
• Rotten Library Article on Gas Chamber
• Gas chamber in US
• from Guardian newspaper (UK): "Revealed: the gas chamber horror of North Korea's gulag " (Feb. 1, 2004)de:Gaskammer

fr:Chambre à gaz he:תא גזים ja:ガス室 nl:Gaskamer pl:Komora gazowa sv:Gaskammare zh:毒气室