Amherst professor Austin Sarat reflects on the 100-year history of gas chamber executions in the United States, highlighting the method’s failure to provide a humane and reliable form of capital punishment despite initial claims, and marking the recent revival of its use in Alabama as a continuation of this problematic legacy. Professor Sarat details the origins and implementation of gas chambers, including the first execution of Gee Jon in Nevada and the various adaptations states made over the years, culminating in a critique of lethal gas as an inhumane method that has consistently resulted in torture and botched executions.
Trending
Meet our Columnists
Columnist Publications ![Justice Denied What America Must Do to Protect Its Children]( "Justice Denied What America Must Do to Protect Its Children")
![Constitutional Law, Cases and Materials (University Casebooks)]( "Constitutional Law, Cases and Materials (University Casebooks)")
![Family Law in New York]( "Family Law in New York")
![God vs. the Gavel The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty]( "God vs. the Gavel The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty")
![Gender Equality Dimensions of Women's Equal Citizenship]( "Gender Equality Dimensions of Women's Equal Citizenship")
![Inside the Castle: Law and the Family in 20th Century America]( "Inside the Castle: Law and the Family in 20th Century America")
![Constitutional Law Concise Edition (University Casebooks)]( "Constitutional Law Concise Edition (University Casebooks)")
![The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech: Its Constitutional History and the Contemporary Debate]( "The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech: Its Constitutional History and the Contemporary Debate")
![Pure Goldwater]( "Pure Goldwater")
![Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series)]( "Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series)")
![Blind Ambition: The White House Years]( "Blind Ambition: The White House Years")
![The Debt Ceiling Disasters: How the Republicans Created an Unnecessary Constitutional Crisis and How the Democrats Can Fight Back]( "The Debt Ceiling Disasters: How the Republicans Created an Unnecessary Constitutional Crisis and How the Democrats Can Fight Back")
![Conservatives Without Conscience]( "Conservatives Without Conscience")
![Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush]( "Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush")
![The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It]( "The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It")
![The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment That Redefined the Supreme Court]( "The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment That Redefined the Supreme Court")
![Fundamentalism, Politics, and the Law]( "Fundamentalism, Politics, and the Law")
![Gender & Law: Theory Doctrine & Commentary, Sixth Edition]( "Gender & Law: Theory Doctrine & Commentary, Sixth Edition")
![Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches]( "Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches")
![Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger?: And Other Questions People Ask Vegans]( "Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger?: And Other Questions People Ask Vegans")
![Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger?: And Other Questions People Ask Vegans]( "Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger?: And Other Questions People Ask Vegans")
![Nine to Five: How Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Continue to Define the American Workplace]( "Nine to Five: How Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Continue to Define the American Workplace")
