Execution methods in USA

Lethal injection:

A deadly cocktail drips from an IV into the convict's arm. Texas and many other states use a three-drug combination. The first drug, a barbiturate, renders the prisoner unconscious. The next, a muscle relaxant, paralyses the diaphgram and lungs. The third causes cardiac arrest.

Many claim lethal injection is the most humane form of execution. But doctors say administering a lethal injection can be difficult when the convicts have scarred veins.This is sometimes the case because drug abuse is so common among death row immates. The federal government, the military and 32 states have ysed this method of execution.

Electocution:

The convict is strapped to a specially built chair, head and body have been shaved to provide better contact with the moistened copper electrodes that the executioner attaches. When the switch is thrown, the convict leaps forward against the restraining straps, often causing vomiting, urination or defecation. Witnesses have reported the smell of burned flesh.

The jolt varies in power from state to state. The first jolt is followed by several more in lower voltage.

In a typical execution, three or more executioners push buttons, but only one is connected to the actual electrical source. Eleven states have provisions for thi method of execution.

Gas chamber:

The prisoner is sealed in an airtight chamber. Either potassium cyanide or sodium cyanide is dropped into a pan of hydrocloric acid. This produces hydrocyanic gas, which destroys the ability to process blood hemoglobin. The prisoner becomes unconscious within seconds and chokes to death. Those who hold their breath sometimes go into wild convulsions.

Afterwards, cleanup crews donning gas masks to decontaminate the body with a bleach solution.

Seven states have provisions for this method of execution.

Hanging:

The executioner places a noose around the convict's neck, a trap door opens and the convict drops. The fall is supposed to snap the third and fourth cervical vertebrae, or causes asphyxiation. To prevent an accidental decapitation, the executioner limits a lenght of the rope according to the prisoner's weight. Washington and Delaware authorize this method and New Hampshire will allow for it if execution by lethal injection is banned.

Firing squad:

A five person squad of executioners takes aim agianst a convict's trunk. Some shooters fire blanks, so the true killer is unknown. firing squads are still legal in Idaho and Utah, and they are authorized in Oklahoma if execution by lethal gas becomes uncostitutional.

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