The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1889-11-01
HUMANE EXECUTIONS
The Use OF CarbonIc oxide rs = suhsutnts
for Hanging.

The Use Of CarbonIc oxide as = suhsntutt
for Hanging.
Dr. Samuel W. Abbott, secretary o
the Massachusetts State Board o
Health, contributes to the Boston
Medical and Surgical Journal an inter
est!ng paper relative TO substituting
for hanging some better and more
humane method of inAiCting the death
penalty. In the present state OF scien-
tihc knowledge Of the nature and et'
fects upon the human system OF cleo
tricity, DE-. Abbott is not prepared TO
accept it As the best substitute At
hand, saying Of experiments which
have been made. 1T would appear
from the results that there are serious
hindrances to the adoption Of this
subtle agent" Without consider
ing tho main question as
to whether some other method
should take the place of hanging, Dir.
Abbott says that, if a change is desira-
bic, in carbonic oxide we possess
such m agent. which has the property
of destroying rapidly and painlessly
when properly administered" He re-
fers to the writings Of DR.. g. W. Rich
ardson, of London, who, several years
ago. brought this method TO public no
tice for the destruction OF small domes-
tic animals, such as dogs and cats, and
especially to DR.. Richardson's state
ment that 700 such animals had been
destroyed in London in a few months
previous 10 the doctors article on
''rn- r~;-'HSs Extinction OF Lite" D..
Abbott says carboniC oxide may be
made from charcoal at small cost
or ii may be obtained more
cheaply still from the street mains
of any coal and water company.
Water gas he considers preferable to
coal gas, since it contains from four to
five times as much carbonic oxide. and
would, therefore. be more rapid and
fatal in its action. He says: An at
mosphere of 25 to 30 per cent. Of car
bonic oxide, as in the case OF water
gas, or. still better, one of 30 per cent.
or more, as may be made from char
coal, would undoubtedly destroy human
in less than two minutes without
pain" He has himself used a mixture
Of about I per cent. with air, with
success in DESTROYING small an
mails in from one to one and One-half
minutes without the appearance Of
lain.
DIR, Abbott goes to show that the
apparatus for an execution may be Of
simplest and most inexpensive
lind, and suggests a tight wooden box,
hree feet square and seven feet high,
tight y-itting door, M aperture for
.dmlIting a gas pipe Of liberal size for
.pPIying a rapid supply OF gas under
pressure from the street
Mains, and a smaller aperture to al
Of expulsion of the air. If a
ighcr percentage OF carbonic oxide is
eslrcd, a small charcoal furnace
'ould be required for generating it and
it temporarily, as in the case
! DIR. Richardson's lcthal chamber.
this method DR.. Richardson SAYS:
Compared with other methods of X
nGuishlng animal life, such as hang
lg' drowning, poisoning by prussic
cid, shooting, stunning. the lcthal
stands far ahead on every
round OF practical readiness, Ger
'lnly humanity" In summing up,
r. Abbott claims for carbOnic oxide
'c advantages Of painless death,
fpid action and economy. In respect
the second point, he says: Its
,tlon should not be confounded
18th the slow action of
nall percentages of gas, such
is illustrated by the accidental
'aths often occurring in hotels.
le'e almost invariably happen by
,posure to the gas escaping from q
ere pin-hole or slit in the gas-burn-
/, which consequently forms but one
y cent. of the air of the apart ment
d destroys life SLOWLY In regard
economy, he says hat the cost OF -.
c wooden box would be but q trile. n
d the expense of 5cventy-fye or one d
inbred feet OF gas scarcely worth i
.antioninG when compared with the h
pensive- apparatus required for an I.
execution. - Boston Tran. ~ ~