08-27-2010, 11:51 AM
discussing the death penalty in countries other than the US.
opinions?
here is a look at Japan's process, shown for first time. the red tape marks where people stand to be hanged, a trapdoor. they fall into a room below where they are pronounced dead. the little room with chairs is where they are informed of their impending executions, and speak with a chaplain.
the wall adjacent to hanging room shows the button that releases the trap door.
fascinating, first i ever knew of their protocol.
inmates are not told ahead of time when they will be executed, they get one hour notice. and relatives not told until after it's done.
more here from NY Times:
HANGING
Post by: CNN's Brad Lendon
Japan reveals long-secretive execution process
Japan, one of the few industrialized countries with the death penalty, showed one of its execution chambers to the media for the first time Friday.
Reporters were shown the death chamber at the Tokyo Detention Facility, one of seven used across the country, according to a report in the Mainichi Daily News.
The unprecedented media access was ordered by Justice Minister Keiko Chiba, who after witnessing the deaths of two condemned prisoners last month, said she wanted to have a national debate on capital punishment in Japan, Mainchi reported. Chiba has previously spoken against the death penalty.
Execution in Japan is carried out by hanging.
The chamber showed to the media on Friday had no noose suspended from the ceiling but showed a trap door outlined in red. The condemned fall to a room below the execution chamber where their deaths are confirmed.
Reporters were not shown that room out of "consideration for the inmates' family and wardens," according to the Mainichi report.
They did see other areas involved in the execution process, including the room where a button is pushed to release the trap door, a room where the condemned can get religious last rites or an entry room where inmates are told they are about to be executed.
In an accompanying article in Mainichi, prison officials described Japan’s execution process, long shrouded in secrecy.
The two men executed on July 28, Ogata Hidenori, 33, and Shinozawa Kazuo, 59, were the first put to death since the August 2009 elections in Japan, according to Amnesty International. The organization says 107 prisoners remain on death row in Japan.
opinions?
here is a look at Japan's process, shown for first time. the red tape marks where people stand to be hanged, a trapdoor. they fall into a room below where they are pronounced dead. the little room with chairs is where they are informed of their impending executions, and speak with a chaplain.
the wall adjacent to hanging room shows the button that releases the trap door.
fascinating, first i ever knew of their protocol.
inmates are not told ahead of time when they will be executed, they get one hour notice. and relatives not told until after it's done.
more here from NY Times:
HANGING
Post by: CNN's Brad Lendon
Japan reveals long-secretive execution process
Japan, one of the few industrialized countries with the death penalty, showed one of its execution chambers to the media for the first time Friday.
Reporters were shown the death chamber at the Tokyo Detention Facility, one of seven used across the country, according to a report in the Mainichi Daily News.
The unprecedented media access was ordered by Justice Minister Keiko Chiba, who after witnessing the deaths of two condemned prisoners last month, said she wanted to have a national debate on capital punishment in Japan, Mainchi reported. Chiba has previously spoken against the death penalty.
Execution in Japan is carried out by hanging.
The chamber showed to the media on Friday had no noose suspended from the ceiling but showed a trap door outlined in red. The condemned fall to a room below the execution chamber where their deaths are confirmed.
Reporters were not shown that room out of "consideration for the inmates' family and wardens," according to the Mainichi report.
They did see other areas involved in the execution process, including the room where a button is pushed to release the trap door, a room where the condemned can get religious last rites or an entry room where inmates are told they are about to be executed.
In an accompanying article in Mainichi, prison officials described Japan’s execution process, long shrouded in secrecy.
The two men executed on July 28, Ogata Hidenori, 33, and Shinozawa Kazuo, 59, were the first put to death since the August 2009 elections in Japan, according to Amnesty International. The organization says 107 prisoners remain on death row in Japan.