IV. (Bedau2) However this process also has its flaws. "It took technicians 45 minutes of sticking to find a proper vein for the injection"(Guernsey, 59) on Peter Morin. Needles have also been know to fly out in the middle of the injection. (59) The gas chamber was first used in Nevada in 1924. (Bedau2) The prisoner is strapped into a chair and cyanide gas is administered through a hole in the floor.
Death takes from three to four minutes, but prisoners have been known to go into convulsions or choke to death on the gas. (Guernsey, 59)
After learning about our modern methods of execution one wonders if these methods are humane. Is being struck with enough electricity to cause the eyeballs pop out of their sockets any better than being beheaded? (Guernsey, 59) Is the death penalty 'cruel and unusual punishment'? We must devise more sane methods of execution which are quick and efficient. Most importantly we must make the appeals process more orderly to cut down on the glut of inmates on death row, and therefore cut down on the money wasted housing prisoners during the appeals process.
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