Race, Death and the Feds

摘要

Pristine and green-tiled, at first glance it could be confused with a hospital operating room. Except for the gurney in the center of the space, which is fitted with restraining straps. And the mechanical injection machine, calibrated to deliver a deadly cocktail of sodium pentathol and potassium chloride. After four years of planning and construction, the federal death chamber in Terre Haute, Ind., will soon be open for business. On Aug. 5, Juan Raul Garza, a convicted drug dealer and murderer, is scheduled to be the first prisoner executed by the federal government since John F. Kennedy was president.