Okay, you might want to re-read yesterday’s fact to refresh your memory. We were exploring the excruciating details of a gas chamber cyanide death and we were up to the point where massive disorientation is setting in and the mouth is filling with a lovely foaming saliva that tastes of acid and almonds. Now let’s see what happens next with…
Today’s Freakish-Looking Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
As the cyanide poisoning process continues large patches of skin, deprived of oxygen, temporarily take on that purplish tinge known to coroners as lividity, the eyes bulge, and the pupils fix and dilate in an unnatural way. Condemned men whose eyes never close, or whose eyes close and reopen at a later point of the asphyxiation, which is common, seem to stare at a particular point or person. Large amounts of lactic acid flood through the body; accompanied by the massive adrenaline flow and oxygen starvation, the acid causes cycles of slackness and exquisitely painful muscle cramps, known as tetany. Under the loose work shirts, jeans, jumpsuits, or diapers the condemned wear, the muscles in the legs, arms, and shoulders are seen to undergo waves of unnatural flatness and freakish-looking tightening. It’s as though the muscles themselves are suffocating and trying vainly to breathe, which in fact is what is happening.
This hyperventilation and panic is followed by a period in which breath becomes labored, then all but ceases. The condemned slump forward, in what’s known as the “apoplectic form,” and seem to dim out of consciousness as vital signs verge on flat and the heart rate falls to comatose levels. Though death is frequently declared at this point – generally one to three minutes into the execution – the heart, just as frequently, continues to beat, reawakening the body’s defenses, at which point the EKG can record high and erratic rates. Condemned who have slumped thoroughly suddenly jerk their heads back, stiffen, open their eyes, and begin belching, farting, or gasping, seemingly returning to consciousness in a state of deep asphyxiation and florid hallucination as the battle continues – often for another four to eight minutes – before the lungs collapse and the oxygen-starved heart and brain finally fail.
Culled from: The Last Face You’ll Ever See: The Culture of Death Row
And thus concludes our series on execution by cyanide. All I can say is… this is the LAST method I’d ever pick if I had the choice!!!