Business: Death in an Octagon

A wooden scaffold, a bag of sand, a black mask and a short length of rope with a running noose might have been good enough for our grandfathers. But a hanging is no longer the fashionable thing it was once; a few U. S. States— Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Missouri, Wyoming, North Carolina and California— even kill their murderers with gas instead of electricity. Five of the country's lethal chambers have been made by the Eaton Metal Products Co. of Denver, which has a ghastly set of patents. Last week the fifth was sent...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!