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The use of a gas chamber for execution was inspired by the use of poisonous gas in World War I.
In an execution using lethal gas, the prisoner is restrained and locked in an airtight chamber. When given the signal the executioner opens a valve so that poisonous gas can flow into the chamber.
It destroys the body's ability to process blood hemoglobin. Unconsciousness can be the result within a few seconds if the prisoner takes a deep breath. However, if he or she holds their breath death can take much longer and the convict goes into wild convulsions. Death usually occurs within six to 18 minutes.
After the pronouncement of death the chamber has to be evacuated. Crews wearing gas masks decontamine the body before being released. If this process wasn't done, the undertaker or anyone handling the body would be killed.
The gas chamber is legal in five states and used as an alternative to lethal injection. Eleven people have been executed by lethal gas in the US since 1976.
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