Arizona making plans to execute prisoners with the same gas Nazis used at Auschwitz: report

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Is This New? Edited

I thought states that used the gas chamber used HCN gas, all the way back to the 60s.
And, Zyklon is actually hydrogen cyanide gas in a mixture of adsorbants (diatomaceous earth, vermiculite, kieselgur...) that traps the gas for gradual release. A very low level opthalmic irritant was added to you'd bail out before the cyanide exposure got too dangerous, should one be exposed.
The HCN itself can be delivered in numerous ways.
As I recall, gas chambers worked by dropping pellets of potassium cyanide into a strong acid, making a salt of the acid anion and releasing cyanide gas. I've done that myself in working with crosslinking alternates in cyanoacrylate adhesives.
So, I'm not sure that this is all that novel, and am not convinced they have the story straight. It's way safer to handle potassium cyanide. Far easier to minimize or eliminate exposure.
My distaste for the death penalty, notwithstanding.
Edit: I see now they bought potassium cyanide solid & sulfuric acid. So the process is as I thought. The sodium hydroxide pellets have nothing to do with the process. The author didn't bother to look this up.
And this is NOT Zyklon B. Hyperbolic headline.