Hanging still on books in N.H.

Monday, January 1, 2007

Hanging still on books in N.H.

By CUTTER MITCHELL
jmitchell@citizen.com

This is a picture of the final noose ever used in an execution in New Hampshire, in 1939.
(Citizen Photo/Kevin Sperl)

CONCORD — Following Saddam Hussein's execution Friday night, there was outrage from some citizens and groups in America and worldwide about the Iraqis' choice of hanging as a means of execution.

Some were quoted in news reports as saying lethal injection would have been more humane; and capital punishment opponents complained that Hussein was put to death, regardless of the means used.

New Hampshire residents opposed to the hanging may not know, however, that the Granite State is one of two states in the country that allows hanging as a method of execution.

State law permits authorities to sentence death row convicts to death by hanging if lethal injection cannot be carried out. In the state of Washington, lethal injection is administered unless the inmate requests to be put to death by hanging.

"[N.H.] law leaves it open where hanging could be used if lethal injection couldn't be used," said Jeffrey Lyons, the public information officer for the N.H. Department of Corrections.

The last person to be executed in New Hampshire, an Alton man, was put to death by hanging. Howard Long was hanged at the State Prison for Men in Concord on July 14, 1939. Long had been convicted of killing and sexually assaulting a young boy in Alton.

Prior to Long's death, 11 other prisoners had been executed by hanging at the state prison dating back to 1869. In fact, every person that has ever been executed by state authorities has been hanged.

The room where Long was hanged has since been converted into a recreation room for prisoners, though the wooden planks below the point where the noose once hung still can been seen on the recreation room floor.

The rope which was used to hang Long was taken and cut into pieces and then distributed to various law enforcement agencies across the state to serve as a reminder of the execution. The noose, which the state prison retained for its historic value, hung on the prison wall until recently, when it was put away for historical preservation.

When Long was executed, his body was suspended for seven minutes before he was pronounced dead at 1:27 a.m.

Experts say that doesn't necessarily mean hanging causes a person more pain and suffering than execution by lethal injection would inflict.

"If done properly there should be no gory details. It's not the string 'em up like in the western movies," said Thomas Andrew, the state's chief medical examiner.

The U.S. military has an executioner's handbook on how a hanging should be performed. Andrew said if the right methods are used, a person being hanged should be killed instantaneously.

"There are lots of technical calculations involved. It's a fairly complex thing," said Andrew.

When an individual is hanged, the knot should come down on the second neck vertebra, forcing the bone into the spinal cord and causing instantaneous death, which makes it as painless as lethal injection, he said.

"If it's done effectively, either of the two should be efficient and pain-free," said Andrew.

He said there is a misconception about this form of execution that stems from suicidal hanging, which is a different matter. Under those circumstances, a person tends to die by suffocation rather than dying quickly.

Since the execution of Lyons there have been two other individuals who have sat on New Hampshire's Death Row, though both were paroled in the 1960s after a U.S. Supreme Court decision came down that briefly suspended the death penalty across the country.

Under New Hampshire law a person can only be executed by the state if he has been convicted of certain kinds of capital offenses. There are circumstance of a crime that qualify for the death penalty, including murder for hire, rape murder, committing murder after being sentenced to life in prison, and killing a law enforcement officer.

After the fatal shooting of Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs, state prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty against his alleged murderer, Michael Addison.

Lyons said the Department of Corrections does not at present have a lethal injection system constructed. If one were to be built, it is likely to cost the state millions.