Birmingham age-herald., 1895-07-29
TO MAKE DEATH EASY
SCHEME TO KILL MURDERERS PAIN
 LESsLY AND UNAWARES.

Late Discoveries In An@sthetics Afford
 Ample Means For Quick Death-car-
 bonic Acid Suggested as Best Medium.
 Personal Experience nt the Worlds Fair.
 The recent unsuccessful electrocution of Dr. Buchanan in New York and the prop osition sprung in the last Ohio legislature to adopt electricity as means of executing the death sentences in the state have led to an investigation at the Ohio State uniyer- sity of the question of reform in capital punishment Professor B. F. Thomas, who occupies tho chair of physics, and who has an intimate technical knowledge of the action of tho electrical fluid, has been giving tho subject much consideration. He is of the opinion that olectrocution, however successful, may not be painless. On the other hand, he believes that an ab- solutely painless death could be caused by the administration of oarbonic acid gas in proper manner. Hero is what he has to say as q result of his Investigation;
 Late discoveries in anRsthetics afford wide opportunities to persons who desire to .humanitarianize capital punishment, and poisons present. an almost limitless field for tho selection of an agent that will irflict quick, painless and absolutely cor tain death. Aconite, prussic acid or al- most any one of q dozen chemicals will accomplish the result without any of the uncertainty and with nonc of the possible pain that is attached to tho present meth ods.
 n.sCarbonic acid gas is perhaps better than all, for under it's influence the criminal simply would sleep his life peacefully away, absolutely without pain and, with proncr arrangements, without any of the agonized foraknowledgc of tho hour and minute of his execution. I believe it is generally recognized that simple removal from society is the only object aimed at by the capital punishment laws of civilized nations and that being tho case tho most humane methods should be selected" '"
 Then Professor Y omas told of a per sonal experience in .ihich tho possibilities of carbonic acid gas as death producing agent were clearly demonstrated. It was at the World s fair, and the professor had been stopping temporarily in an apartment house, where not long before young man had narrowly escaped death in most mysterious way. The young man had gone to the bathroom, which was equipped with a water heater of peculiar construction, but provided with no means for the escape of the products of combustion resulting from the flamo of the heater
 Not long |. ter he had closed the doors of tho bathroom loud noise, as of some one falling to the floor, was heard. Tho door was broken open and the occupant of the room found unconscious He was re- suscitated with great difficulty. A similar experience befell young lady who subse- i,quently occupied the same room. It was found that both were victims of carbonic acid gas Professor Thomas inspected the bathroom and found, us has been stated q that there was no means provided for tho escape of the products of combustion gen erated by the heater. In other words, the oarbonic acid gas from the flame, settling first to the floor of the room, finally had 8 arisen as it increased in volume until 1t 8 had reached the level of the bathtub and then the nostrils of tho person occupying the room. Both the young man and the young woman were practically doad, at least so far as any sensation was con cerned, when found. The professor ques- tioned each of them, and both said they had experienced no pain whatever prior to the lapse of consciousness. There had been a slight feeling of lassitude and some dig Ziness, and then came an absolute blank, ~ without the smallest suggestion Of fear or 2 pain. This unconsciousness would have meant death to both of the victims had not friends discovered them in time and applied restoratives, from which Professor d. Thomas reasons that carbonic acid gas according to these two cases which came q under his personal observation, is a certain tu and an absolutely painless agent of death q. If we are to change the present method a of in6icting capital punishment, said he, r'.'let us secure tho passage of soine law which will kill tho criminal without either physical or mental agony, method that shall be quick, painless and certain, and at the samo time humane. If carbonic acid gas were to be the agont selected, a cell could be fitted up at the pcnitentiary with pipe connection for the introduce tion of the gas from the place of its gener- aation near by, and proper covering for the doors and windows so that the gas could not escape during the execution. Then the law could be lnado to provide sort of in- definite sentence by fixing tho date of the execution as between two certain days, week or moro apart, tho exact time to be selected by tho warden. The criminal could be placed in this prepared cell and given no intimation of the exact time of his death and thus be spared tho agony of daily and hourly expectation. When the warden saw proper, and probably whilo the criminal was sleeping peacefully he could have valve turned in tho pipe through which tho gas was to pass, and the thing wcro done, for the sleep which the condemned man was enjoying would have no awakening. Death would have como to him painlcssly and without his foreknowledgo of its approach. '-Cincin- nati Enquirer.
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