Execution chamber explained

An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death row population is housed. Inside the chamber is the device used to carry out the death sentence.

United States

In the United States, an execution chamber will usually contain a lethal injection table. In most cases, a witness room is located adjacent to an execution chamber, where witnesses may watch the execution through glass windows. All except for two of the states which allow capital punishment are equipped with a death chamber, but many states rarely put them to use. The exceptions are New Hampshire, which has no execution chamber (although one inmate remains on death row since the abolition of capital punishment in that state is not retroactive) and California, which has no execution chambers after the lethal injection room and gas chamber were removed in 2019. Kansas, Nevada, and Wyoming are the only states to have an execution chamber, which is equipped to execute an inmate by lethal injection, which has never been used, while the states of New Jersey and New York formerly had lethal injection chambers which were never used while the death penalty remained legal.

The National Ethics Council of the American Institute of Architects ruled in 2019 that its members may continue to design execution chambers in jurisdictions where they are legal.[1] [2]

Locations

width=120pxExecution chamber
FederalTerre Haute, Indiana (Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute)[3]
MilitaryTerre Haute, Indiana (Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute)[4]
width=120pxStateExecution chamber
AlabamaEscambia County (Holman Correctional Facility)[5]
ArizonaFlorence (Arizona State Prison Complex - Florence)[6]
ArkansasLincoln County (Cummins Unit)[7]
CaliforniaMarin County (San Quentin State Prison)[8]
ColoradoFremont County (Colorado State Penitentiary)[9]
ConnecticutSomers (Osborn Correctional Institution)[10]
DelawareNew Castle County (James T. Vaughn Correctional Center)[11]
FloridaBradford County (Florida State Prison)[12]
GeorgiaButts County (Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison)[13]
IdahoKuna (Idaho Maximum Security Institution)
IllinoisTamms (Tamms Correctional Center)[14]
IndianaMichigan City (Indiana State Prison)
KansasLansing (Lansing Correctional Facility)
KentuckyEddyville (Kentucky State Penitentiary)[15]
LouisianaWest Feliciana Parish (Louisiana State Penitentiary)[16]
MarylandBaltimore (Metropolitan Transition Center)[17]
MississippiSunflower County (Mississippi State Penitentiary)[18]
MissouriBonne Terre (Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center)
MontanaPowell County (Montana State Prison)
NebraskaLincoln (Nebraska State Penitentiary)
NevadaWhite Pine County (Ely State Prison)[19]
New HampshireConcord (New Hampshire State Prison for Men)
New JerseyTrenton (New Jersey State Prison)
New MexicoSanta Fe County (Penitentiary of New Mexico)
New YorkBeekman (Green Haven Correctional Facility)
North CarolinaRaleigh (Central Prison)[20]
OhioJefferson and Valley townships,[21] [22] Scioto County (Southern Ohio Correctional Facility)[23]
OklahomaMcAlester (Oklahoma State Penitentiary)[24]
OregonSalem (Oregon State Penitentiary)
PennsylvaniaBenner Township[25] [26] (State Correctional Institution - Rockview)[27]
South CarolinaColumbia (Broad River Correctional Institution)[28]
South DakotaSioux Falls (South Dakota State Penitentiary)[29]
TennesseeNashville (Riverbend Maximum Security Institution)[30]
TexasHuntsville (Huntsville Unit)[31]
UtahSalt Lake City (Utah State Correctional Facility)
VirginiaGreensville County (Greensville Correctional Center)[32] [33]
WashingtonWalla Walla (Washington State Penitentiary)[34]
WyomingRawlins (Wyoming State Penitentiary)
Notes:

Death penalty abolished in 2020. All remaining inmate's death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by Gov. Jared Polis immediately upon abolition.

Death penalty abolished in 2012. All remaining inmates death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by the Connecticut Supreme Court in 2015.

Death penalty abolished in 2011. All condemned prisoners sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by Gov. Pat Quinn immediately upon abolition.

Death penalty abolished in 2013. Remaining inmate's death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by Gov. Martin O'Malley in 2014.

Death penalty abolished in 2019; one prisoner remains on death row under sentence of death.[35]

Death penalty abolished in 2007.[36] All remaining inmate's death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by Gov. Jon Corzine immediately upon abolition.

Death penalty abolished in 2009. All remaining inmates death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by the New Mexico Supreme Court in 2019.[37]

Death penalty abolished in 2007. All remaining inmates death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by the New York Court of Appeals immediately upon abolition.

Closed in 2008 under David Paterson's administration.[38]

Death penalty abolished in 2021. All remaining inmates death sentences were automatically commuted to life imprisonment under the abolition statute.[39] [40]

Death penalty abolished in 2018. All remaining inmates death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by the Washington Supreme Court immediately upon abolition.

If an execution does occur, the state will use its parole board meeting room at the state prison.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the execution chamber was part of a larger complex, often referred to as the "Execution Suite". The room, usually formed from two single prison cells, contained the large trapdoor, usually double-leaved, but in some older chambers such as at Oxford, single-leaved, and operating lever. The wooden beam from which the rope was suspended was usually set into the walls of the chamber above, with the floor removed. At Wandsworth Prison the floor was retained and holes allowed the rope and chains through. Oxford's chamber was of an old 19th-century type, and the beam was set into the walls of the chamber just above head height.

Such rooms were almost always built into one of the wings of a prison; following the recommendation of prison governors during the 1948 Royal Commission on capital punishment, further execution chambers were housed in purpose-built blocks, separate from the main prison. The last gallows to be constructed and used in Britain, at HMP Aberdeen, was built in 1962, and was used one year later for the hanging of Henry John Burnett, the last person to be executed in Scotland. A freestanding execution block was built at HMP Perth in 1965, but was never used. This was the last gallows to be constructed in the United Kingdom.

The last officially operational gallows in the United Kingdom (as several remained unofficially in other prisons), at Wandsworth Prison, was removed in 1994. Salvaged parts from it are currently in the possession of the National Justice Museum, having previously been at the HM Prison Service museum.

Japan

Japan has seven execution chambers, which are located at the Detention Houses in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai and Sapporo. All executions in Japan are carried out by hanging. The execution chamber in Tokyo has a trap door. As the condemned is dropped, their body falls into a room below the execution chamber and the death is confirmed.[41] In the Tokyo facility, the actual chamber is preceded by a room with a shrine to Amida Nyorai (Amitābha), a Buddhist deity, to allow for prayers and consultation with a religious official. The execution room in Tokyo is separated into two sections, with a total area of 25 m2.[42]

Canada

In Canada, executions were usually carried out in the county/municipality jail where they were committed. Alberta had gallows for the entire province in Fort Saskatchewan and Lethbridge. British Columbia had their executions in Oakalla (Burnaby).

The Don Jail was for murders committed in The City of Toronto and County of York. The Ontario County Jail in Whitby which was used for murders committed to what is now Durham Region. Most hangings were carried out using temporary gallows built in the jail yard although a few jails had permanent indoor facilities.

Notes and References

  1. News: Kimmelman. Michael. 2020-06-12. There's No Reason for an Architect to Design a Death Chamber. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-06-17. 0362-4331.
  2. Web site: National Ethics Council. December 2019. Wanton Disregard for the Rights of Others. 17 June 2020. American Institute of Architects.
  3. "Special Confinement Unit Opens at USP Terre Haute ." Federal Bureau of Prisons. July 13, 1999. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.
  4. News: Military sets date for first execution since 1961 . AP . Topeka, Kan. . Military on NBC News . November 20, 2008 . November 5, 2010 . Army personnel will be responsible for conducting the execution in Indiana based on an agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. ., see also Ronald A. Gray
  5. "Annual Report Fiscal Year 2003." Alabama Department of Corrections. 33/84 Retrieved on August 15, 2010. "The death chamber is located at Holman where all executions are conducted."
  6. "Death Row Information and Frequently Asked Questions ." Arizona Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
  7. "State Capitol Week in Review." State of Arkansas. June 13, 2008. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. "Executions are carried out in the Cummins Unit, which is adjacent to Varner."
  8. "MEDIA ACCESS FOR WILLIAMS EXECUTION ." California Department of Corrections. April 2, 1996. Retrieved on August 16, 2010. "The execution of Keith Daniel Williams is scheduled for Friday, May 3, 1996 at San Quentin State Prison."
  9. "Death Row FAQ." (Archive) Colorado Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.
  10. "Administration of Capital Punishment Directive Number 6.15." Connecticut Department of Correction. October 19, 2004. 1/9. Retrieved on August 16, 2010. "Execution Area. A series of four (4) contiguous rooms in the Osborn Correctional Institution the..."
  11. "JAMES T VAUGHN CORRECTIONAL CENTER (formerly DELAWARE CORRECTIONAL CENTER)." Delaware Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
  12. "Death Row Fact Sheet ." Florida Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.
  13. "Office of Planning and Analysis: The Death Penalty ." Georgia Department of Corrections. January 2010. 3/15. Retrieved on July 18, 2010.
  14. "Tamms Closed Maximum Security Unit: Ten-Point Plan Brief." Illinois Department of Corrections. 3 (9/51). September 3, 2009. Retrieved on September 1, 2010.
  15. "Kentucky State Penitentiary Prepares For 165th Execution ." WLKY. Retrieved on September 8, 2010.
  16. "Officials prep for Bordelon's execution Thursday." The Advocate. January 6, 2010. Retrieved on August 24, 2010. "Laborde said Bordelon has been moved from Angola's new Death Row facility to a cell at nearby Camp F, where the execution chamber is located"
  17. Calvert, Scott and Kate Smith. "Death row inmates transferred to W. Maryland." The Baltimore Sun. June 25, 2010. Retrieved on September 22, 2010.
  18. Martin, Nathan. "Wilcher gets reprieve ." Laurel Leader-Call. July 12, 2006. Retrieved on July 21, 2010.
  19. News: Whaley, Sean. Nevada's new $860,000 execution chamber is finished but gathering dust. Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2016-11-27. 2017-04-23.
  20. "nmate who could be 1,000th execution waits for family." Chicago Tribune. December 2, 2005. Start Page 14. Retrieved on September 1, 2010. "... panes separating the viewing room from the stark execution chamber at Central Prison."
  21. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Jefferson township, OH. U.S. Census Bureau. 2022-08-01. Southern Ohio Corr Facility.
  22. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Valley township, OH. U.S. Census Bureau. 2022-08-01. Southern Ohio Corr Facility. 3 (PDF p. 4/4).
  23. "Ohio Death Row Inmates ." Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Retrieved on September 2, 100.
  24. "Death Row ." Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 2, 2010.
  25. "Benner Township Zoning Map." Zoning Ordinance . Benner Township, March 2009. Retrieved on July 26, 2010
  26. Web site: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections: SCI Rockview . Pennsylvania Department of Corrections . 2010-07-26.
  27. "Death Penalty FAQ." Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. 2 (2/4). Retrieved on July 26, 2010.
  28. "Death Row/Capital Punishment ." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
  29. "Web site: South Dakota Department of Corrections . 2011-01-02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110105165459/http://doc.sd.gov/adult/facilities/sdsptour.aspx . 2011-01-05 . "
  30. "Death Penalty in Tennessee History ." Tennessee Department of Correction. Retrieved on August 25, 2010.
  31. "Frequently Asked Questions Victim Survivors Viewing Executions ." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. "Executions in Texas normally take place after 6:00 p.m. at the Huntsville Unit in downtown Huntsville, Texas."
  32. "Virginia Death Row/Execution Facts." My FOX DC. Tuesday November 10, 2009. Retrieved on August 22, 2010.
  33. "Greensville Correctional Center/Greensville Work Center (major male institution) ." Virginia Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 22, 2010.
  34. "Capital Punishment in Washington State ." Washington State Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 26, 2010.
  35. New Hampshire Legislature Overrides Veto, Abolishes Death Penalty. Mark Joseph. Stern. Slate . 30 May 2019. 1 July 2023. slate.com.
  36. Amick, George. "Amick: After Georgia debate, looking back on repeal of New Jersey's death penalty" (Archive). Times of Trenton. October 10, 2011. Retrieved on March 21, 2016.
  37. Web site: New Mexico Sets Aside Final 2 Death Sentences . US News & World Report . 28 June 2019 . 1 July 2023.
  38. News: Gov Pulls Switch On Death Cell . New York Post . Brendan . Scott . July 24, 2008.
  39. News: Virginia all but certain to become first southern state to abolish death penalty. Ed. Pilkington. 5 February 2021. 1 July 2023. The Guardian.
  40. Web site: Virginia governor signs death penalty repeal bill. 24 March 2021. CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR. 1 July 2023.
  41. Web site: Japan reveals long-secretive execution process . 2010-08-27 . CNN . 2023-09-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100828095743/http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/27/japan-reveals-long-secretive-execution-process/?hpt=Sbin . 2010-08-28.
  42. "Diet members tour execution chamber." The Japan Times. Thursday July 24, 2003. Retrieved on August 27, 2010.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Execution chamber".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.