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Aaron Mitchell (d. April 12, 1967) was executed in the
gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History ...
for murdering police officer Arnold Gamble in
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
on February 15, 1963. Mitchell was the last person to be executed in California before the
Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the judiciary of California, courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly h ...
ruled in 1972 that capital punishment was unconstitutional (the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
made a similar ruling later that year). He was the 194th person to be executed by gassing in California (1937–67), and the only person to be executed in that state during the term of Governor
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
(1967–1975). Both Reagan and his predecessor had declined clemency. Mitchell's case had been heard twice by the US Supreme Court and twice by the California Supreme Court. Prior to his execution, he was visited by renowned psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor, and author of ''
Man's Search for Meaning ''Man's Search for Meaning'' is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, and describing his psychotherapeutic method, which involved identifying a purpose in life to ...
'', Dr. Viktor Frankl in lieu of last rites. Shortly thereafter, Mitchell held an unorthodox press conference during which he declared in a typewritten statement that "I have made my appeal to God and to the Governor. This is my last appeal to Man. Forgive me, for I knew not." The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' documented him saying "I don't really expect clemency from the Governor and I sympathize with him. He will be under criticism either way, but under much lighter criticism if he fails to act for me." He also feared that his own execution may spur "a long new line to the gas chamber." His last words were "I am Jesus Christ!" He was 37. There were no further executions in California until 1992, when
Robert Alton Harris Robert Alton Harris (January 15, 1953 – April 21, 1992) was an American car thief, burglar, kidnapper and murderer who was executed at San Quentin State Prison in 1992 for the 1978 murders of two teenage boys in San Diego. His execution was the ...
was gassed. The gas chamber was ruled unconstitutional in California in 1996.


See also

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Capital punishment in California In the U.S. state of California, capital punishment is a legal penalty. However it is not allowed to be carried out because executions were halted by an official moratorium ordered by Governor Gavin Newsom. Prior to the moratorium, executions ...


References


External links


O'Shea, Kathleen A.; Conrad, Ann Patrick
''Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998'', pp. 74–76. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999, {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Aaron 1930 births 1967 deaths American people executed for murdering police officers 20th-century executions of American people 20th-century executions by California People convicted of murder by California People executed by California by gas chamber