Capital punishment in Mississippi
Encyclopedia
Capital punishment in Mississippi uses lethal injection. Currently executions occur
at the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) Mississippi State Penitentiary
(MSP) in Sunflower County, Mississippi
. Men on death row are held at Unit 29 in MSP, while women on death row are held at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility
(CMCF) in Rankin County, Mississippi
.
as its method of execution for much of its history. From the earliest recorded execution in 1818 through 2004, records indicate that the state executed a total of 794 people. Of these, the great majority were black
males, who account for 639 of recorded executions.
Around the time of the 1901 opening of the Mississippi State Penitentiary
(Parchman Farm), Sunflower County residents objected to having executions performed at MSP because they feared that Sunflower County would be stigmatized as a "death county." Therefore the State of Mississippi originally performed executions of condemned criminals in their counties of conviction. When, in 1940, Mississippi's state legislature decided to change the state's method of execution to electrocution, while continuing to conduct executions in the county of conviction, a portable electric chair
was developed and fabricated for the state's use. On October 11, 1940, the state's first execution of a condemned prisoner by electrocution occurred; Hilton Fortenberry was electrocuted in his county of conviction, Jefferson Davis County
. The state moved the electric chair from county to county, using it to kill condemned prisoners in their counties of conviction. Mississippi and Louisiana were the only U.S. states to use a portable electric chairs.
Around the 1950s residents of Sunflower County were still opposed to the concept of housing the execution chamber at MSP. In September 1954, Governor Hugh L. White
called for a special session of the Mississippi Legislature
to discuss the application of the death penalty. During that year, a gas chamber
serving as an execution chamber
was installed at MSP. The gas chamber replaced the portable electric chair which, between 1940 and February 5, 1952, had been moved from county to county to execute condemned prisoners. The first person to die in the gas chamber was Gearald A. Gallego, who was executed on March 3, 1955.
On July 1, 1984 the Legislature of Mississippi amended §§ 99-19-51 of the Mississippi Code; the new amendment stated that prisoners who committed capital crimes after July 1, 1984 would be executed by lethal injection
. When the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility
(CMCF) opened in January 1986, all women who were incarcerated at MSP were moved to CMCF. The $41 million Unit 32, the state's designated location for male death row inmates, opened in August 1990. Previously Unit 17 housed Parchman's male death row. On March 18, 1998 the legislature made another amendment, removing the gas chamber as a method of execution. The lethal injection table was first used in 2002.
Since 1976, Mississippi has executed fewer prisoners than six other southern states despite comparable homicide rates. One critic claims that this stems from the inability of poorer counties to afford legal fees for defendants accused of capital crimes. Because death penalty cases are subject to a high standard of review -- and there is a constitutional requirement for effective assistance of counsel
as a matter of Due process of law and subsequent appellate review -- this has led to a practical and constitutional impediment to its efficient operations.
from his or her death row unit by 48 hours prior to the execution. The state places the Mississippi State Penitentiary
on emergency lockdown status 24 hours before the execution. At 12:00 PM a media center at Parchman opens. At 3:00 PM the condemned's attorney of record and chaplain are permitted to visit him or her. At 4:00 PM the prisoner received his or her last meal; he or she may shower at that time. At 4:30 PM, if the condemned desires, MDOC clergy may visit him or her. At 5:30 witnesses to the execution are transported to Unit 17. At 6:00 PM officials move the condemned from the holding cell to the execution chamber
. At the same time the witnesses enter the designated observation areas. At 7:00 PM the state conducts a post-execution briefing with media witnesses. At 8:30 PM the state closes its media center.
Execution chamber
An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which a legal execution is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death row population is housed...
at the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary , also known as Parchman Farm, is the oldest prison and the only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi, USA....
(MSP) in Sunflower County, Mississippi
Sunflower County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 34,369 people, 9,637 households, and 7,314 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile . There were 10,338 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...
. Men on death row are held at Unit 29 in MSP, while women on death row are held at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility
Central Mississippi Correctional Facility
The Central Mississippi Correctional Facility is a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison for men and women located in unincorporated Rankin County, Mississippi, near Pearl. The prison is the only state prison to hold female prisoners in Mississippi, in addition to minimum and medium...
(CMCF) in Rankin County, Mississippi
Rankin County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 115,327 people, 42,089 households, and 31,145 families residing in the county. The population density was 149 people per square mile . There were 45,070 housing units at an average density of 58 per square mile...
.
History
The State of Mississippi used hangingHanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
as its method of execution for much of its history. From the earliest recorded execution in 1818 through 2004, records indicate that the state executed a total of 794 people. Of these, the great majority were black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
males, who account for 639 of recorded executions.
Around the time of the 1901 opening of the Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary , also known as Parchman Farm, is the oldest prison and the only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi, USA....
(Parchman Farm), Sunflower County residents objected to having executions performed at MSP because they feared that Sunflower County would be stigmatized as a "death county." Therefore the State of Mississippi originally performed executions of condemned criminals in their counties of conviction. When, in 1940, Mississippi's state legislature decided to change the state's method of execution to electrocution, while continuing to conduct executions in the county of conviction, a portable electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
was developed and fabricated for the state's use. On October 11, 1940, the state's first execution of a condemned prisoner by electrocution occurred; Hilton Fortenberry was electrocuted in his county of conviction, Jefferson Davis County
Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 13,962 people, 5,177 households, and 3,768 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile . There were 5,891 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile...
. The state moved the electric chair from county to county, using it to kill condemned prisoners in their counties of conviction. Mississippi and Louisiana were the only U.S. states to use a portable electric chairs.
Around the 1950s residents of Sunflower County were still opposed to the concept of housing the execution chamber at MSP. In September 1954, Governor Hugh L. White
Hugh L. White
Hugh Lawson White was an American politician from Mississippi and a member of the Democratic Party. He served two non-consecutive terms as Governor of Mississippi .-Biography:...
called for a special session of the Mississippi Legislature
Mississippi Legislature
The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi Senate, with 52 members. Both Representatives and Senators serve four-year...
to discuss the application of the death penalty. During that year, a gas chamber
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
serving as an execution chamber
Execution chamber
An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which a legal execution is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death row population is housed...
was installed at MSP. The gas chamber replaced the portable electric chair which, between 1940 and February 5, 1952, had been moved from county to county to execute condemned prisoners. The first person to die in the gas chamber was Gearald A. Gallego, who was executed on March 3, 1955.
On July 1, 1984 the Legislature of Mississippi amended §§ 99-19-51 of the Mississippi Code; the new amendment stated that prisoners who committed capital crimes after July 1, 1984 would be executed by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
. When the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility
Central Mississippi Correctional Facility
The Central Mississippi Correctional Facility is a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison for men and women located in unincorporated Rankin County, Mississippi, near Pearl. The prison is the only state prison to hold female prisoners in Mississippi, in addition to minimum and medium...
(CMCF) opened in January 1986, all women who were incarcerated at MSP were moved to CMCF. The $41 million Unit 32, the state's designated location for male death row inmates, opened in August 1990. Previously Unit 17 housed Parchman's male death row. On March 18, 1998 the legislature made another amendment, removing the gas chamber as a method of execution. The lethal injection table was first used in 2002.
Since 1976, Mississippi has executed fewer prisoners than six other southern states despite comparable homicide rates. One critic claims that this stems from the inability of poorer counties to afford legal fees for defendants accused of capital crimes. Because death penalty cases are subject to a high standard of review -- and there is a constitutional requirement for effective assistance of counsel
Ineffective assistance of counsel
Ineffective assistance of counsel is an issue raised in legal malpractice suits and in appeals in criminal cases where a criminal defendant asserts that their criminal conviction occurred because their attorney failed to properly defend the case...
as a matter of Due process of law and subsequent appellate review -- this has led to a practical and constitutional impediment to its efficient operations.
Execution procedure
The condemned prisoner is moved into a holding cell adjacent to the execution room in Unit 17, the location of the execution chamber, in the Mississippi State PenitentiaryMississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary , also known as Parchman Farm, is the oldest prison and the only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi, USA....
from his or her death row unit by 48 hours prior to the execution. The state places the Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary , also known as Parchman Farm, is the oldest prison and the only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi, USA....
on emergency lockdown status 24 hours before the execution. At 12:00 PM a media center at Parchman opens. At 3:00 PM the condemned's attorney of record and chaplain are permitted to visit him or her. At 4:00 PM the prisoner received his or her last meal; he or she may shower at that time. At 4:30 PM, if the condemned desires, MDOC clergy may visit him or her. At 5:30 witnesses to the execution are transported to Unit 17. At 6:00 PM officials move the condemned from the holding cell to the execution chamber
Execution chamber
An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which a legal execution is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death row population is housed...
. At the same time the witnesses enter the designated observation areas. At 7:00 PM the state conducts a post-execution briefing with media witnesses. At 8:30 PM the state closes its media center.
External links
- Death Row - Mississippi Department of Corrections