Dreamers, scientists, soldiers, merchants, lawmakers, lawyers, physicians, governors, journalists, wardens, keepers—and, of course, the condemned prisoners—all made their unique contribution to the rise and fall of the gas chamber. But the creation of a “painless and humane” method of killing proved elusive. Despite all of their utopian schemes, laboratory experiments and mathematical formulas, blind obedience, commercial arrangements, legislative clauses, legal briefs, stopwatches, stethoscopes, death warrants, witnesses peering into peepholes, execution protocols, and public relations pronouncements, America’s use of lethal gas as a method of capital punishment ended with the close of the twentieth century. But its awful legacy will continue for a long time to come.
APPENDIX 1
EARL C. LISTON’S PATENT APPLICATION
This invention relates to a lethal gas chamber for the execution of condemned criminals and has for its principal object the provision of a complete efficient assembly which will provide a
5 gas tight chamber equipped with death chairs, gas generating equipment, gas exhaust equipment, and gas counteracting equipment, all under the control of one man located at one point so that a complete control can be had of
10 the gas generation and the gas elimination from the executioner’s position.
Another object of the invention is to so construct the above mechanism so that it will form a complete unit which can be efficiently built into
15 a building structure to provide rooms for the witnesses, warden, doctor, and executioner, all grouped about the complete single unit.
Another object of the invention is to provide a neat, compact, mechanism which will humanely
20 execute the criminal or criminals with the least possible delay and confusion, and which will allow quick entry after the execution without danger to the attendants.
Other objects and advantages reside in the
25 detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efficiency. These will become more apparent from the following description.
In the following detailed description of the
30 invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawings and throughout the description.In the drawings—
35 Fig. 1 illustrates a front elevation of the lethal gas chamber and gas generating pit.
Fig. 2 is a detail view of the gas exhaust valve.
Fig. 3 is a. plan view of the chamber.
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section, taken on the line
40 4—4, Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a detailed section, taken on the line 5—5, Fig. 4.
Fig. 6 is a detail view illustrating an alternate form of gas generator.
45 Fig. 7 is a detail view of the cyanide crystal valve.
Fig. 8 is a detail view of the ammonia distributing screen.
The invention comprises a vertical cylindrical
50 metallic cell 10 closed at its top with a conical roof 11, the central portion of which is flattened to provide a fan platform 12.
The cell is provided with a series, preferably five, of gas-tight glass windows 13 and with a
55 door 14 swung from suitable hinges 15, The door, when closed, is clamped against a sealing gasket 16 through the medium of a clamping latch mechanism 17. The hinges and the latches are of the usual heavy duty refrigerator type.The cell is sealed at its bottom with a metal
5 floor 18. The floor, walls, and roof are all preferably welded together to form a hermetically sealed structure.One or more death chairs 19 are secured to the floor 18 by means of suitable stud bolts 20. In
10 the cell illustrated, two chairs are employed. These chairs are of metal throughout and are provided with wire screen seats through which the lethal gas may pass.In the form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, a generating
15 pit 21 is excavated below the cell 10. This pit contains two lead lined, gas generating pots 22 for containing hydrochloric acid. A gas pipe 23 leads upwardly from each of the generating pots 22 and opens through the floor 18 directly
20 below each of the chairs. The flow of gas through these pipes is controlled by the means of gas valves 24 which are actuated in unison from a connecting rod 25. A gas waste pipe 26 leads from the upper portion of each pot through a
25 control valve 27 which is also connected with the connecting rod 25. The relation of the valves 24 and 27 is such that when the former are opened the latter will be closed.
Each pot 22 carries a cyanide funnel 28 for
30 holding cyanide crystals. The flow of the crystals to the pots is controlled by means of butterfly valves 29 which are actuated by connecting links 30 from the handles of the valves 24. The relation of the valves 24 and 29 is such that both will
35 open simultaneously. Each pot is provided with an acid drain cock 31. The connecting rod 25 leads through a bell crank lever 32 and rod 33 to a gas control lever 34 which is hinged on the
40 side of the cell 10.
An exhaust fan 35 is mounted on top of the cell and driven from a suitable electric motor 36. The exhaust fan communicates with the interior of the cell through an elbow 53, shown in detail in Fig. 2. The elbow has an exhaust plate valve
45 37 controlling its opening to the cell. When this valve moves upwardly, it seals against suitable sealing gaskets 38. The plate valve is continuously urged to the closed position by means of a compression spring 39 acting on a valve stem 40.
50 It is moved to the open position by means of a lever 41 which is actuated by a rod 42 from a second control lever 43.
Four compressed air pipes 44 lead into the bottom
55 of the cell 10 from any suitable air supply (not shown). The air pipes are controlled by-gate valves 45. Between each gate valve and the cell is an ammonia container 46 supported upon a drain pipe 47 which leads into the air pipe 44.
5 The flow of ammonia is controlled by an ammonia valve 48 at each air pipe. Within the latter immediately below the ammonia pipe is an inclined screen 54 which acts to disperse the ammonia in the incoming air. At each air pipe the
10 handles of the valves 45 and 48 are both connected to a pull rod 49, so that when the rod is pulled upwardly both valves will open simultaneously. The pull rods 49 are suspended from cranks 50 on a series of cranks and linkage 51