execution room in Japan
Japan currently has 107 inmates on death row, and no pardon is allowed. From 2000 to 2009, Japan sentenced 112 people to death and executed 46. …
Japan … has a 99 percent conviction rate. …
Inmates on death row are not told when they will be executed until the last minute — a procedure Japanese officials say prevents panic among inmates — and their family members and lawyers are informed only afterward, as are the news media. …
The inmate is handcuffed and blindfolded before entering the execution room, officials said. Three prison wardens push separate buttons, only one of which releases the trapdoor [for hanging] — but they never find out which one. Wardens are given a bonus of about $230 every time they attend an execution. (source)
I don’t know whether or not this is more humane than the system in the U.S., where convicts get a date in advance, only to see it postponed several times over several decades. What I do know is that the Japanese method of executing people clearly shows the moral confusion of those administering the whole thing. If you’re convinced that capital punishment is the right thing to do, you do it openly and not unannounced in secret locations while trying not to burden the executioners with too much moral guilt.
More on capital punishment. More on Japan. More human rights facts.
- A Walk Through Japan’s Execution Chambers (nytimes.com)
- “Japanese officials reveal execution chambers” and related posts (theonlinecitizen.com)
- Japan Reveals Its Execution Room For The First Time [Execution] (gizmodo.com)
- Media shown Japan death chamber (bbc.co.uk)
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