Around the United States, there are substantial variations in the way people view methods of capital punishment. Some conclude it essentially violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, while others see it as the only form of justice. But even so, this does not remove the fact that there are thirty-two U.S states that support and act upon capital punishment. In fact, there is a total of five different methods of execution authorized by most states that currently have death penalty statutes. During the course of this paper, I will be discussing each method which includes: Lethal Injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad, and hanging.
To begin with, the method of lethal injection as a form of execution was first
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Although lethal injection is the official alternative method, two states, Delaware, and Washington, still use hanging for executing prisoners. (“Methods 1”). To prepare for this method, the day before the actual execution, the prisoner is weighed and their height is taken in order to determine the size and length of the perfect noose for them. Just as well, using a sandbag of the same weight as the inmate, a rehearsal execution is done to ensure the calculations of the noose are correct. “If the rope is too long, the inmate could be decapitated, and if it is too short, the strangulation could take as long as 45 minutes” (“Methods 1”). Other steps taken to create the perfect noose is that the rope has to be boiled, stretched, and lubricated with either wax or soap to eliminate coiling and establish smooth sliding action. Right before the real execution begins, the convict is blindfolded and their hands and legs are secured, as the noose is wrapped around their neck, with the knot placed behind the left ear. When the time comes, a trap-door is opened, making the prisoner fall through. Their weight is meant to cause a fast fracture-dislocation of the neck but, sudden death is a rare occurrence. Inmates with strong neck muscles who are light, can result with engorged faces, protruded tongues, popped out eyes, body defecation, and violent limb movements if the noose is wrongly positioned. In the end, death is reached by asphyxiation and severe trauma to the upper cervical