Execution chamber

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File:Execution Chamber at Utah State Prison.jpg
The execution chamber of the Utah State Prison

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 apparatus used to carry out the death sentence.

United States

File:RedHatsExecutionChamber.jpg
The former State of Louisiana execution chamber at the Red Hat Cell Block in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in West Feliciana Parish. The electric chair is a replica of the original.

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

File:TerreHauteUSP.jpg
United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute houses the federal government execution chamber
File:HuntsvilleUnitHuntsvilleTX.jpg
Huntsville Unit houses the Texas execution chamber; it is the most active execution chamber in the United States, with 528 executions between 1982 and 2015.[3]
File:AngolaLAPrison.jpg
Louisiana State Penitentiary houses the Louisiana execution chamber
File:ParchmanGateNewPhoto.JPG
Mississippi State Penitentiary houses the Mississippi execution chamber
Execution chamber
Federal Terre Haute, Indiana (Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute)[4]
Military Terre Haute, Indiana (Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute)[5]
State Status Execution chamber
Alabama Active Escambia County (Holman Correctional Facility)[6]
Arizona Active Florence (Arizona State Prison Complex - Florence)[7]
Arkansas Active Lincoln County (Cummins Unit)[8]
California Defunct Marin County (San Quentin State Prison)[9]
Colorado Defunct<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[a] Fremont County (Colorado State Penitentiary)[10]
Connecticut Defunct<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[b] Somers (Osborn Correctional Institution)[11]
Delaware Defunct New Castle County (James T. Vaughn Correctional Center)[12]
Florida Active Bradford County (Florida State Prison)[13]
Georgia Active Butts County (Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison)[14]
Idaho Active Kuna (Idaho Maximum Security Institution)
Illinois Defunct<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[c] Tamms (Tamms Correctional Center)[15]
Indiana Active Michigan City (Indiana State Prison)
Kansas Active Lansing (Lansing Correctional Facility)
Kentucky Active Eddyville (Kentucky State Penitentiary)[16]
Louisiana Active West Feliciana Parish (Louisiana State Penitentiary)[17]
Maryland Defunct<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[d] Baltimore (Metropolitan Transition Center)[18]
Mississippi Active Sunflower County (Mississippi State Penitentiary)[19]
Missouri Active Bonne Terre (Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center)
Montana Active Powell County (Montana State Prison)
Nebraska Active Lincoln (Nebraska State Penitentiary)
Nevada Active White Pine County (Ely State Prison)[20]
New Hampshire Defunct<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[e] Concord (New Hampshire State Prison for Men)
New Jersey Defunct<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[f] Trenton (New Jersey State Prison)
New Mexico Defunct<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[g] Santa Fe County (Penitentiary of New Mexico)
New York Defunct<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[h] Beekman (Green Haven Correctional Facility)<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[i]
North Carolina Active Raleigh (Central Prison)[21]
Ohio Active Jefferson and Valley townships,[22][23] Scioto County (Southern Ohio Correctional Facility)[24]
Oklahoma Active McAlester (Oklahoma State Penitentiary)[25]
Oregon Defunct Salem (Oregon State Penitentiary)
Pennsylvania Active Benner Township[26][27] (State Correctional Institution - Rockview)[28]
South Carolina Active Columbia (Broad River Correctional Institution)[29]
South Dakota Active Sioux Falls (South Dakota State Penitentiary)[30]
Tennessee Active Nashville (Riverbend Maximum Security Institution)[31]
Texas Active Huntsville (Huntsville Unit)[32]
Utah Active Salt Lake City (Utah State Correctional Facility)
Virginia Defunct<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[j] Greensville County (Greensville Correctional Center)[33][34]
Washington Defunct<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[k] Walla Walla (Washington State Penitentiary)[35]
Wyoming Active Rawlins (Wyoming State Penitentiary)<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>[l]

Notes:

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>a Death penalty abolished in 2020. All remaining inmate's death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by Gov. Jared Polis immediately upon abolition.

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>b Death penalty abolished in 2012. All remaining inmates death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by the Connecticut Supreme Court in 2015.

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>c Death penalty abolished in 2011. All condemned prisoners sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by Gov. Pat Quinn immediately upon abolition.

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>d Death penalty abolished in 2013. Remaining inmate's death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by Gov. Martin O'Malley in 2014.

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>e Death penalty abolished in 2019; one prisoner, Michael K. Addison, remains on death row under sentence of death.[36]

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>f Death penalty abolished in 2007.[37] All remaining inmate's death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by Gov. Jon Corzine immediately upon abolition.

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>g Death penalty abolished in 2009. All remaining inmates death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by the New Mexico Supreme Court in 2019.[38]

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>h 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.

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>i Closed in 2008 under David Paterson's administration.[39]

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>j Death penalty abolished in 2021. All remaining inmates death sentences were automatically commuted to life imprisonment under the abolition statute.[40][41]

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>k Death penalty abolished in 2018. All remaining inmates death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by the Washington Supreme Court immediately upon abolition.

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>l If an execution does occur, the state will use its parole board meeting room at the state prison.

United Kingdom

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". 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 actually used in Britain, at Aberdeen Prison, was built in 1962 but was used only once, for the hanging of Henry John Burnett, the last person to be executed in Scotland. A freestanding execution block was built at Perth Prison in 1965, but remained unused. This was the last purpose-built gallows in the UK.

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 in the possession of the National Justice Museum, having previously been at the HM Prison Service museum.

Japan

File:Tokyo detention center.jpg
One of Japan's seven execution chambers is in the Tokyo Detention House

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.[42] 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.[43]

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.

Gallery

See also

References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ "Inside Death Row Template:Webarchive." National Geographic Explorer. Retrieved on September 28, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Special Confinement Unit Opens at USP Terre Haute Template:Webarchive." Federal Bureau of Prisons. July 13, 1999. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1"., see also Ronald A. Gray
  6. ↑ "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."
  7. ↑ "Death Row Information and Frequently Asked Questions Template:Webarchive." Arizona Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
  8. ↑ "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."
  9. ↑ "MEDIA ACCESS FOR WILLIAMS EXECUTION Template:Webarchive." 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."
  10. ↑ "Death Row FAQ." (ArchiveTemplate:Category handler[<span title="Script error: No such module "string".">usurped]Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".) Colorado Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.
  11. ↑ "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 comprised of the..."
  12. ↑ "JAMES T VAUGHN CORRECTIONAL CENTER (formerly DELAWARE CORRECTIONAL CENTER)." Delaware Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Death Row Fact Sheet Template:Webarchive." Florida Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Office of Planning and Analysis: The Death Penalty Template:Webarchive." Georgia Department of Corrections. January 2010. 3/15. Retrieved on July 18, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Tamms Closed Maximum Security Unit: Ten-Point Plan Brief." Illinois Department of Corrections. 3 (9/51). September 3, 2009. Retrieved on September 1, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Kentucky State Penitentiary Prepares For 165th Execution Template:Webarchive." WLKY. Retrieved on September 8, 2010.
  17. ↑ "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"
  18. ↑ Calvert, Scott and Kate Smith. "Death row inmates transferred to W. MarylandTemplate:Category handler[<span title="Script error: No such module "string".">usurped]Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".." The Baltimore Sun. June 25, 2010. Retrieved on September 22, 2010.
  19. ↑ Martin, Nathan. "Wilcher gets reprieveTemplate:Category handler[<span title="Script error: No such module "string".">usurped]Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".." Laurel Leader-Call. July 12, 2006. Retrieved on July 21, 2010.
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ "Inmate who could be 1,000th execution waits for familyTemplate:Category handler[<span title="Script error: No such module "string".">usurped]Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".." 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."
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ "Ohio Death Row Inmates Template:Webarchive." Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Retrieved on September 2, 100.
  25. ↑ "Death Row Template:Webarchive." Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 2, 2010.
  26. ↑ "Benner Township Zoning Map." Zoning Ordinance Template:Webarchive. Benner Township, March 2009. Retrieved on July 26, 2010
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ "Death Penalty FAQ." Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. 2 (2/4). Retrieved on July 26, 2010.
  29. ↑ "Death Row/Capital Punishment Template:Webarchive." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
  30. ↑ "Script error: No such module "citation/CS1"."
  31. ↑ "Death Penalty in Tennessee History Template:Webarchive." Tennessee Department of Correction. Retrieved on August 25, 2010.
  32. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions Victim Survivors Viewing Executions Template:Webarchive." 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."
  33. ↑ "Virginia Death Row/Execution Facts." My FOX DC. Tuesday November 10, 2009. Retrieved on August 22, 2010.
  34. ↑ "Greensville Correctional Center/Greensville Work Center (major male institution) Template:Webarchive." Virginia Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 22, 2010.
  35. ↑ "Capital Punishment in Washington State Template:Webarchive." Washington State Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 26, 2010.
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Amick, George. "Amick: After Georgia debate, looking back on repeal of New Jersey's death penalty" (ArchiveTemplate:Category handler[<span title="Script error: No such module "string".">usurped]Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".). Times of Trenton. October 10, 2011. Retrieved on March 21, 2016.
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ "Diet members tour execution chamber." The Japan Times. Thursday July 24, 2003. Retrieved on August 27, 2010.

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