A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. The debate about Capital punishment, colloquially known as the death penalty, is highly controversial Most major world religions take an ambiguous position on the morality of Capital punishment. Wrongful execution is a Miscarriage of justice occurring when an innocent person is put to death by Capital punishment, the "death penalty Capital punishment was last used in Australia in 1967, when Ronald Ryan was hanged in Victoria, he was the last Capital punishment in Brazil was last used in 1861 and has not been officially used since the proclamation of the Republic in 1889. The only method used in Canada for Capital punishment was Hanging. The People's Republic of China currently uses Capital punishment for many crimes from Tax evasion and Political corruption to The death penalty has been totally abolished in almost all European countries (47 out of 50 Capital punishment in France existed officially from the Middle Ages and was abolished in 1981 Capital punishment in Germany has been abolished The current Constitution of Germany ("Grundgesetz" as adopted in 1949, does not allow Capital Capital punishment in India is legal but rareDuring the late 1900's, about 40 people were executed In Italy, the first pre-unitarian state to abolish the Death penalty was the Grand Duchy of Tuscany as of November 30, 1786, under the reign Capital punishment in Iraq was commonly used by the government of Saddam Hussein. Capital punishment is legal in Japan, with the only crimes for which this is the statutory punishment being Homicide and Treason. Capital punishment in Malaysia applies to Murder, Drug trafficking, Treason, and waging war against Yang di-Pertuan Agong Capital punishment in New Zealand first appeared in a codified form when New Zealand became a British territory in 1840 and was first employed in in 1842 Capital punishment was legal in Pakistan since its inception till 2008 Capital punishment in the Philippines has a varied history and on June 24 2006, was abolished Both the legal and moral status of Capital punishment in Russia are currently controversial Capital punishment is a legal form of Punishment in Singapore. Capital punishment is a legal form of Punishment in the Republic of China ( Taiwan) Capital punishment of a Felon in the United States, in modern times is employed and in practice only in cases involving murder Methods of capital punishment Methods of execution used to carry out Capital punishment have varied over time and include Burning, especially Decapitation (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head or beheading, is the cutting off of the head of a person or animal Execution by electrocution (usually referred to after its method of implementation as the Electric Chair) is an execution method originating in the United States in which the Execution by firing squad is a method of Capital punishment, particularly common in times of war Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death Execution by shooting is a form of Capital punishment whereby an executed person is shot by one or more Firearms It is the most common method of execution Methods of capital punishment Methods of execution used to carry out Capital punishment have varied over time and include Burning, especially In the context of Biology, poisons are substances that can cause damage, Illness, or Death to Organisms usually by An asphyxiant gas is a non-toxic or minimally The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used. Hydrogen cyanide is a Chemical compound with Chemical formula HCN Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single Carbon monoxide, with the chemical formula CO is a colorless odorless tasteless yet highly toxic Gas. Gas chambers were used as a method of execution for condemned prisoners in the United States beginning in the 1920s. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the During the Holocaust, large-scale gas chambers designed for mass killing were used by Nazi Germany as part of their genocide program. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers ^[1] The use of gas chambers has also been reported in North Korea. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, Gas chambers have also been used for animal euthanasia, using carbon dioxide as the lethal agent. Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single Sometimes a box filled with anaesthetic gas is used to anaesthetize small animals for surgery or euthanasia. Anesthesia, or anaesthesia (see spelling differences; from Greek grc αν- an-, "without" and grc αἲσθησις Anesthesia, or anaesthesia (see spelling differences; from Greek grc αν- an-, "without" and grc αἲσθησις

Napoleonic France

Main article: The Crime of Napoleon

In his book, Le Crime de Napoléon, French historian Claude Ribbe has claimed that in the early 19th century, Napoleon used poison gas to put down slave rebellions in Haiti and Guadeloupe. The Crime of Napoleon (in French Le Crime de Napoléon) is a Controversial book published in 2005 by French philosopher Claude Ribbe Claude Ribbe (born October 13, 1954) is a French writer and "human rights commissioner" of Caribbean origin Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Haiti ( English: ˈheɪ·tiː or haɪ·ˈjiː·tiː French Haïti a·i·ti Haitian Creole: Guadeloupe is an island group or Archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at, with a land area of 1628 square kilometres (629  sq Based on accounts left by French officers, he alleges that enclosed spaces including the holds of ships were used as makeshift gas chambers where sulfur dioxide gas (probably generated by burning sulfur) was used to execute up to 100,000 rebellious slaves. A ship's hold, in older Ships was below the Orlop deck, the lower part of the interior of a ship's hull, especially when considered as storage space as Sulfur or sulphur (ˈsʌlfɚ see spelling below) is the Chemical element that has the Atomic number 16 As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another These claims remain controversial. ^[2]

Nazi Germany

Roof of Majdanek gas chamber showing vents through which Zyklon B was inserted

Interior of Majdanek gas chamber, showing Prussian blue residue

Gas chambers were used in the Third Reich during the 1930s and 1940s as part of the "public euthanasia program" aimed at eliminating physically and intellectually disabled people and political undesirables in the 1930s and 1940s. Majdanek was a Nazi Concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland. Prussian blue is a very dark blue colorfast non-toxic Pigment – one of the first synthetic Dyes – which was discovered accidentally in Berlin in 1704 Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Action T4 (Aktion T4 was a program in Nazi Germany spanning October 1939 until August 1941 during which physicians killed 70273 peoplespecified in Hitler's Developmental disability is a term used to describe life-long disabilities attributable to mental and/or physical or combination of mental and physical impairments At that time, the preferred gas was carbon monoxide, often provided by the exhaust gas of cars or trucks or army tanks. Carbon monoxide, with the chemical formula CO is a colorless odorless tasteless yet highly toxic Gas. Exhaust gas is Flue gas which occurs as a result of the Combustion of fuels such as Natural gas, Gasoline /petrol Diesel, Fuel A tank is a tracked, Armoured fighting vehicle designed for Front-line combat which combines Operational mobility and tactical ^[3]

During the Holocaust, gas chambers were designed to accept large groups as part of the Nazi policy of genocide against the the Jews. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group Nazis also targeted the Romani people, homosexuals, physically and mentally disabled, and intellectuals. The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins In early 1940, the use of hydrogen cyanide produced by Zyklon B was tested on 250 Roma children from Brno at the Buchenwald concentration camp. Zyklon B (tsykloːn ˈbeː also spelled Cyclon B or The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins Brno ( IPA:; Brünn is the second-largest City in the Czech Republic. Buchenwald concentration camp (German Konzentrationslager or 'KZ' Buchenwald) was a Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg (Etter Mountain near ^[4] On September 3, 1941, 600 Soviet POWs were gassed with Zyklon B at Auschwitz camp I; this was the first experiment with the gas at Auschwitz. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. "Auschwitz" redirects here For the town see Oświęcim Auschwitz-Birkenau () was the largest of Nazi Germany ^[5]

One of the destroyed crematoria at Auschwitz concentration camp

Carbon monoxide was also used in large purpose-built gas chambers. "Auschwitz" redirects here For the town see Oświęcim Auschwitz-Birkenau () was the largest of Nazi Germany Carbon monoxide, with the chemical formula CO is a colorless odorless tasteless yet highly toxic Gas. The gas was provided by internal combustion engines (detailed in the Gerstein Report). The Gerstein Report was written by Kurt Gerstein, an Obersturmführer of the Waffen-SS in 1945 who rose to become the Head of Technical Disinfection Services ^[6]

Gas chambers in mobile vans, concentration camps, and extermination camps were used to kill several million people between 1941 and 1945. See also List of Nazi-German concentration camps, Extermination camp Prior to and during World War II, Nazi Germany under Hitler maintained Extermination camps were two types of facilities that Nazi Germany built during World War II for the systematic killing of millions of people in what has become Some stationary gas chambers could kill 2,500 people at once. Rudolf Hoess, Commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, attested to the use of gas chambers in the Holocaust. Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höß (in English commonly Hoess or Höss; November 25 1900 - April 16 1947 was an SS- Obersturmbannführer and ^[7]

The gas chambers were dismantled or destroyed when Soviet troops got close, except at Dachau, Sachsenhausen, and Majdanek. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Dachau was a Nazi German Concentration camp, and the first one opened in Germany located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions Factory near the Sachsenhausen (zaksənˈhaʊzən was a Concentration camp in Germany, operating between 1936 and 1945 Majdanek was a Nazi Concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland. The gas chamber at Auschwitz I was reconstructed after the war as a memorial, but without a door in its doorway and without the wall that originally separated the gas chamber from a washroom. "Auschwitz" redirects here For the town see Oświęcim Auschwitz-Birkenau () was the largest of Nazi Germany The door that had been added when the gas chamber was converted into an air raid shelter was left intact. ^[8]

United States

Gas chamber history and laws in the United States.      Secondary method only      Once used gas chamber, but does not today      Has never used gas chamber

Post-Furman uses by state and numbers

Gas chambers have been used for capital punishment in the United States to execute criminals, especially convicted murderers. Capital punishment of a Felon in the United States, in modern times is employed and in practice only in cases involving murder In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries The first person to be executed in the United States by gas chamber was Gee Jon, on February 8, 1924 in Nevada. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Gee Jon (c 1895 &ndash February 8, 1924) was the first person in the United States to be executed by lethal gas, at Nevada State Prison on Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nevada ( is a state located in the western region of the United States of America. In 1957, Burton Abbott was executed as the governor of California, Goodwin J. Knight was on the telephone to stay the execution. Burton W Abbott (dMarch 15 1957 was a University of California at Berkeley accounting student living in Oakland, California, who was tried for California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Goodwin Jess Knight ( December 9, 1896  &ndash May 22, 1970) known as "Goodie Knight" was a U ^[9] Since the restoration of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, only ten executions by gas chamber have been conducted. ^[10] By the 1980s, reports of suffering during gas chamber executions had led to controversy over the use of this method.

At the September 2, 1983 execution of Jimmy Lee Gray in Mississippi, officials cleared the viewing room after eight minutes while Gray was still alive and gasping for air. Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Jimmy Lee Gray (1949 &ndash September 2, 1983) was convicted for the Murder of three-year-old Deressa Jean Seales in 1976 after Kidnapping Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States The decision to clear the room while he was still alive was criticized by his attorney. An attorney at law (or attorney-at-law) in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute David Bruck, an attorney specializing in death penalty cases, said "Jimmy Lee Gray died banging his head against a steel pole in the gas chamber while reporters counted his moans. "^[11]

During the April 6, 1992 execution of Donald Harding in Arizona, it took eleven minutes for death to occur. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Donald Eugene Harding ( March 1, 1949 &ndash April 6, 1992) was convicted of the January 25, 1980 murders of Robert Wise The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The prison warden stated that he would quit if required to conduct another gas chamber execution. ^[12] Following Harding's execution, Arizona voted that all persons condemned after November 1992 would be executed by lethal injection. ^[10]

Following the videotaped execution of Robert Alton Harris a federal court declared that "execution by lethal gas under the California protocol is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. Robert Alton Harris ( January 15, 1953 &ndash April 21, 1992) was an American career criminal and Murderer "^[13] By the late 20th century, most states had switched to methods considered to be more humane, such as lethal injection. California's gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison was converted to an execution chamber for lethal injection. San Quentin State Prison is located on 432 acres (17 km² on Point San Quentin in Marin County, California, United States, north of San Francisco

As of 2006, the last person to be executed in the gas chamber was German national Walter LaGrand, sentenced to death before 1992, who was executed in Arizona on March 3, 1999. Federal Republic of Germany v United States, ( per curiam) was a case in The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Events 1284 - Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England 1575 - Indian Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) The 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that he could not be executed by gas chamber, but the decision was overturned by the U. S. Supreme Court. ^[10] The gas chamber was formerly used in Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina and Oregon. The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States Nevada ( is a state located in the western region of the United States of America. New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Five states: Arizona, California, Maryland, Missouri and Wyoming, retain the gas chamber as a method of execution, but allow lethal injection as an alternative. The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee The State of Wyoming ( is a sparsely populated state in the western region of the United States. ^[14]

Other nations

In 2004 it was reported that gas chambers were used by North Korea both as punishment and for testing of lethal agents on humans. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, ^[15]

Images

The former gas chamber in New Mexico State Penitentiary, Used only once in 1961, subsequently replaced by lethal injection.

The former gas chamber in San Quentin State Prison, now an execution chamber for lethal injection. San Quentin State Prison is located on 432 acres (17 km² on Point San Quentin in Marin County, California, United States, north of San Francisco

References