ndred fifty seven executions in the United States. There were five methods of doing so, as follows.Lethal Injection: 133Electrocution: 112Gas Chamber: 9Hanging: 2Firing Squad: 1Electric ChairFirst used in New York in 1890 and still in use in 13 states, "old sparky" was the horrific outcome of Thomas Edisons attempt to show the dangers of the AC power supply being promoted by his rivals. The condemned is strapped to a wooden chair, electrodes are attached, and a shock of thirty thousand watts is applied. The prisoner is literally looked internally, and death may require multiple shocks.Gas ChamberFirst used in Nevada in 1921, the gas chamber is an airtight room with a chair into which the accused is strapped. Death is caused by exposure to cyanide gas, produced when sodium cyanide is dropped into sulfuric acid. The suffering caused is deliberate and plain to see: writhing, vomiting, shaking and gasping for breath for many seconds. This horrendous technique is used only in a few US states.Lethal InjectionIntroduced in the US in 1977 and now in use in 23 states, this is the most widespread method and arguably the most humane. The condemned is strapped to a table and injected with sodium thiopentone, losing consciousness in 10 to 15 seconds. This is followed by pancuronium bromide, which blocks respiration, and finally potassium chloride to stop the heart (Matthews, pg.s 38-43).While electrocution is obviously not the most painless way to execute someone, it does offer a deterrent for future crime. I know that I personally would not murder anyone if I knew that I would be executed with the electric chair. Such a deterrent keeps most people safe as they go about in their lives.But does it do any good? Does executing someone for such crimes actually prevent future occurrences? Some would say no, others would say yes, but me I have the notion that in some cases yes, but in others no. I say this because, unlike in the nineteent...
