General
Interest
1924
First execution by lethal gas
The first execution by
lethal gas in American history is carried out in Carson City, Nevada. The
executed man was Tong Lee, a member of a Chinese gang who was convicted of
murdering a rival gang member. Lethal gas was adopted by Nevada in 1921 as a
more humane method of carrying out its death sentences, as opposed to the
traditional techniques of execution by hanging, firing squad, or electrocution.
During a lethal gas
execution, the prisoner is sealed in an airtight chamber and either potassium
cyanide or sodium cyanide is dropped into a pan of hydrochloric acid. This
produces hydrocyanic gas, which destroys a human body’s ability to process
blood hemoglobin. The prisoner falls unconscious within seconds and chokes to
death, unless he or she holds his or her breath, in which case the prisoner
often suffers violent convulsions for up to a minute before dying.
Lethal gas as a method of
carrying out capital punishment was largely replaced by lethal injection in the
late 20th century.
Courtesy: HISTORY.com
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