要说零痛苦，那估计是胡扯，因为只要是人来执行，就难免出现失误，比如毒气放多了或者放少了，毒气泄露波及室外的人，一切均有可能。毒气室执行死刑，目前在美国某些州可能还在执行，这不我写了篇文章导读 【注：该小说为虚构作品】 ，里面详细介绍了毒气室执行死刑的具体流程、方法，还拍成了电影，一起来看看吧：
"Everything went wrong. Have you seen the chamber?"
"Not yet."
"There's a little room off to the side where the executioner mixes his solution. The sulfuric acid is in a canister which he takes from his little laboratory to a tube running into the bottom of the chamber. With Meeks, the executioner was drunk."
"Come on, Sam."
"I didn't see him, okay. But everyone knows he was drunk. State law designates an official state executioner, and the warden and his gang didn't think about it until just a few hours before the execution. Keep in mind, no one thought Meeks would die. We were all waiting on a last minute stay, because he'd been through it twice already. But there was no stay, and they scrambled around at the last minute trying to locate the official state executioner. They found him, drunk. He was a plumber, I think. Anyway,his first batch of brew didn't work. He placed the canister into the tube, pulled a lever,and everyone waited for Meeks to take a deep breath and die. Meeks held his breath as long as he could, then inhaled. Nothing happened. They waited. Meeks waited. The witnesses waited. Everybody slowly turned to the executioner, who was also waiting and cussing. He went back to his little room, and fixed up another mix of sulfuric acid. Then he had to retrieve the old canister from the chute, and that took ten minutes. The warden and Lucas Mann and the rest of the goons were standing around waiting and fidgeting and cussing this drunk plumber, who finally plugged in the new canister and pulled the lever..............................
孙子给判了死刑的爷爷做辩护律师——背后有哪些不为人知的故事？
一、是「坏人变老」还是「老人变坏」
这位被判了死刑的爷爷，因为年轻时没少干坏事：1、与他人共同对一个黑人实施私刑——绞刑；2、因孩子纠纷，枪杀自家雇工——黑人孩子的爸爸；3、与3K党分子，共同对犹太民权律师的办公室实施爆炸，最终导致犹太律师的双胞胎儿子被炸飞，犹太律师双腿被截肢。第3项行为导致「坏人」入狱两次，但在美国仇视黑人的黑暗年代，「坏人」两进两出，被判无罪。回家继续生活，「坏人」慢慢变老。
"You don't think I'll be convicted?"
"Hell no. Listen, Sam, take my word for it. We'll get us a jury full of patriots, your kind of people, Sam. All white. All worried about their little children being forced to go to schools with little nigger kids. Good people, Sam. We'll pick twelve of 'em, put 'em in the jury box, and explain to 'em how these stinkin' Jews have encouraged all this civil rights nonsense. Trust me, Sam, it'll be easy." With that, Clovis leaned across the shaky table, patted Sam on the arm, and said, "Trust me, Sam, I've done it before."
二、社会变了，「变老的坏人」第三次入狱
随着美国种族歧视反抗运动的激烈进行，「变老的坏人」成为政客吸引选票的工具，第三次入狱并被判死刑，「变老的坏人」在狱中仍不放弃学习，自学法律并成才，不断上诉拖延死刑的执行，因为在那个年代，在密西西比执行死刑的方式，既不是注射死，也不是电椅，而是毒气毒死，坏人虽坏，但也不想这么死去。
三、从未谋面的孙子，为了弄清自己父亲自杀的原因，挺身为爷爷辩护
主人公与爷爷从未谋面，因为主人公的父亲，羞于与其父亲这样的人为伍，因为父亲干了这么多坏事，其索性更换姓名，不断更换家庭地址，为的就是与原生家庭断绝关系。在得知其父亲被判死刑后，其选择在主人公的房间自杀结束自己的一生，并给主人公留下字条：回家后看到我的尸体，尽快清理，不要让妈妈和妹妹看到吓到她们。主人公就是在这样的原生家庭下长大，他始终对父亲自杀不理解，所以想通过爷爷去了解真相。
四、距离爷爷进「毒气室」还有30天，留给辩护律师的时间不多了
孙子在这将近30天没少做工作，其一直怀疑爷爷不是单独实施的爆炸，因为其并不具有设置定时炸弹的专业知识，事实上也的确是这样，还有一个人一直逍遥法外，但爷爷对此选择了保密，包括很多原因。爷孙俩整天研究美国法律，对毒气执行方式的残忍性，向州最高法院提出上诉，被驳回后又向美国最高法院申请延缓执行死刑，但结果都不太符合预期。
"Now, let me get this straight," Robichaux interrupted in a high-pitched voice. "You don't
want your client to die in the gas chamber because it's a cruel way to go, but are you telling us you don't mind if he's executed by lethal injection?"
"No, Your Honor. That's not what I'm saying. I do not want my client executed by any method."
"But lethal injection is the least offensive?"
"All methods are offensive, but lethal injection seems to be the least cruel. There's no doubt the gas chamber is a horrible way to die."
"Worse than being bombed? Blown up by dynamite?"
「变坏的老人」结局如何？是否更换死刑方式？欲知后事如何，请阅读格里森姆的【The Chamber】，通过该书可以对美国的死刑制度有一个基本的了解。该书已拍成电影，感兴趣的可以自行查找观看。
