Where are death penalty inmates housed?

Inmates on Condemned Status Historically, state law mandated that male prisoners on condemned status be housed at San Quentin State Prison and women condemned inmates be housed at Central California Women’s Facility.

How does the death chamber work?

The condemned person is strapped into a chair within an airtight chamber, which is then sealed. The executioner activates a mechanism which drops potassium cyanide (or sodium cyanide) pellets into a bath of sulfuric acid beneath the chair; the ensuing chemical reaction generates lethal hydrogen cyanide gas.

Why do they have a phone in the execution room?

Winklepleck describes it as “airport security on steroids.” The goal is to make sure reporters have no contraband or recording devices. Once they’ve cleared security, media witnesses are either taken back to the media center to wait or straight to the execution chamber building.

What is a witness room in the death chamber?

In most cases, a witness room is located adjacent to an execution chamber, where witnesses may watch the execution through glass windows. All except for one of the states which allow capital punishment are equipped with a death chamber, but many states rarely put them to use.

What is the name of the prison that houses the execution chamber?

United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute houses the U.S. federal government execution chamber. Huntsville Unit houses the execution chamber of the State of Texas; it is the most active execution chamber in the United States, with 528 executions between 1982 and 2015.

What happens to death row offenders on death row?

If a death row offender violates prison regulations, he may be placed in a segregation cellblock outside of the death row area. He must eat his meals in his cell and is separated from other death row offenders for his daily hour of exercise and shower. Conditions are similar for female offenders on death row.

What happens in an execution chamber?

In the United States, an execution chamber will usually contain a lethal injection table. In most cases, a witness room is located adjacent to an execution chamber, where witnesses may watch the execution through glass windows.