rn off. The first major substitute for hanging was electrocution, the most widely used form of execution in this country. The prisoner is led , or dragged into the death chamber, strapped into the chair, and electrodes fastened to head and legs. When the switch is thrown the body strains, jolting as the voltage is raised and lowered. Often smoke rises from the head. There is the awful odor of burning flesh also. No one knows how long the prisoners retain consciousness. (McCuen 53). An attempt to improve electrocution was the gas chamber. The prisoner is strapped into a chair, a container of sulfuric acid underneath. The chamber is sealed and cyanide is dropped into the acid to form lethal gas. As the gas fills the chamber, the prisoner turns purple, drools, and the eyes pop. Unconsciousness may not come for several minutes, but even then, the body continues to struggle for air. Most people observing an execution are horrified and disgusted. Revulsion at the duty to supervise and witness executions is one reason why so many prison Walker 4wardens, and people unsentimental about crime and criminals, are opponents of capital punishment. (22) There is also the issue for executing children and pregnant women. In Iran, 12 pregnant women were executed in the past ten years. In the same time period, 42 people under the age of 18 were executed. Amir Molki, who was 16 years old, was held in Evin Prison for three months before being executed without trial. In the United States, there is a law against having a child on death row. In Iran they comment, A nine year old girl is considered mature. So there is no difference to us between a nine year old child and forty year old man, and it does not prohibit us from issuing any kind of sentence.(128)The death penalty will be a battled issue probably for the rest of our lives. many agree if you take the life of...
