The Execution Protocol by Stephen Trombley Arrow $72 WHATEVER you think of capital punishment, this book will make you think harder. The protocol that surrounds taking a life serves to depersonalise and detach everyone involved in the death process - from wardens and correction officers to the execution witnesses and executioners. Carrying out the death penalty is merely a task, done collectively.
Trombley, a New York-born journalist, publisher and documentary film-maker, zeros in on the etiquette that surrounds the job.
The book was a result of Trombley's work in making a documentary film on capital punishment. He spent months in American prisons in Texas, Tennessee and Missouri, where death takes a variety of forms, including firing squad, hanging, electric chair, gas chamber and lethal injection.
Dozens of inmates on death row were interviewed along with superintendents, wardens and executioners. Trombley weaves people stories into his reporting, adding faces, names and personalities.
Meet Fred Leuchter from Massachusetts, the inventor of the lethal injection machine. His company specialises in execution hardware.
But his electric chairs and gas chambers are just a facet of his business. His philosophy, ''make the process as palatable as possible. . . ensure 'a dignified and professional execution' '' extends to a variety of services. He offers on-site training and certification for prison staff members, counselling and consulting.
Trombley accompanied him to an industry trade shows where poster boards of his inventions were displayed. Leuchter's least expensive lethal injection machine sells for US$30,000 (HK$232,000). An execution trailer, equipped with lethal injection equipment, sells for US$100,000; a Leuchter-designed gas chamber, US$200,000.
