Most of us have heard stories about hangings in the Old West, the firing squads in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah, the electric chair, and the latest news on lethal injection, but very little is said about the lethal gas executions that have taken place in the United States.
The first lethal gas execution in the U.S. happened in the Nevada State Prison on February 8, 1924.
The method was first presented as being far more humane than hanging a person, and was meant to replace death by hanging altogether.
California Method
Several different methods have been used to carry out a lethal gas execution.
In California, a lethal gas execution took place inside of a small, sealed chamber. The condemned was taken into the chamber and made to sit on a chair that had holes in the seat. The condemned was then strapped into place and a container holding sulfuric acid and distilled water was placed under the chair.
The door was sealed shut and, at the appointed time, the executioner would pull a lever that mixed sodium cyanide crystals with the sulfuric acid and water, making hydrocyanic gas. The condemned person, who would have been advised to take in several deep breaths of the visible gas in order to become unconscious, would inhale gas and eventually die.
Time Until Death
The time between the release of the gas and the time of actual death could take anywhere from eight to 18 minutes.
For example, in February, 1943, it was reported that James Rawlins, convicted for the murder of an 11-year-old girl, was taken to the Arizona gas chamber. Rawlins was described as being shirtless and wearing only his gray prison trousers. He was taken inside the gas chamber where he sat down. Straps were adjusted around his arms and legs. His execution began at 6:05 a.m. and he was declared dead 8 and 1/2 minutes later.
Nearly six years later, James R. Creech, Jr. was executed on January 28, 1949 in North Carolina. It was reported that he entered the gas chamber at 9:59 a.m. and was pronounced dead fourteen minutes later at 10:13 a.m.
Suffering
As more people were executed by lethal gas, more stories came out about inmates suffering during the process.
Before being executed in California’s gas chamber in 1960, Caryl Chessman was asked to nod his head if he felt any pain after the gas was released. It was reported that the man nodded his head for several minutes before becoming unconscious.
During the execution of Jimmy Lee Gray in Mississippi on September 2, 1983, witnesses to the execution were cleared out of the viewing room after eight minutes of listening to Gray moan and gasp, and seeing him beat his head against a steel pole.
It took Donald Harding in Arizona ten and a half minutes to die on April 6, 1992. Afterwards, the warden stated that he would quit his position if he had to conduct another lethal gas execution, and Arizona switched to lethal injection for those who were sentenced to death after 1992.
Last Lethal Gas Execution – So Far
The last lethal gas execution in the U.S. took place in Arizona on March 3, 1999. Walter LaGrand had been sentenced to death previous to 1992 and was ineligible for lethal injection.
