[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- MISSOURI

[Joerg Sommer]

death penalty news

April 12, 2005


MISSOURI:

Reporters Get First Look At New Missouri Execution Room

As the state prepares to execute convicted killer Donald Jones on April 
27th, reporters get their first look at Missouri's new death chamber.

Last month, the state announced it was moving the execution site from the 
Potosi Correctional Center to a new maximum-security prison in nearby Bonne 
Terre.

Prison officials say the new prison was built with the execution chamber in 
mind. There are key distinctions.

Witness areas are more spacious, now allowing easier access for 
wheelchairs. The inmate holding cell near the chamber now has a shower. The 
inmate strapped to the gurney no longer will be able to see witnesses for 
the state and for the victim's family through the glass.

(source: AP / KSDK)