An execution van is a vehicle in which prisoners are executed through
lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...
.
The vehicle is equipped with an
execution chamber
An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a prison#Security levels, maximum-security prison, although not always at the same p ...
with a bed that
physically restrains prisoners while lethal injections are administered. Execution vans have been used in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
since 2003.
People's Republic of China
In China, lethal injections were legalized in 1997. Lethal injections are now the most prominent form of capital punishment in China and, in some provinces, are the only legal form of capital punishment.
[Congressional-Executive Commission on China]
2010 Annual Report
, 10 October 2010, p. 98.
Yunnan
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
officials authorized the use of execution vans in March 2003 and the province deployed 18 vans in the same year. Zhao Shijie, president of the Yunnan Provincial High Court, said, "The use of lethal injection shows that China's death penalty system is becoming more civilized and humane".
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
expressed concern that the use of execution vans could increase the use of executions. The
Supreme People's Court
The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC) is the highest court of the People's Republic of China. It hears appeals of cases from the high people's courts and is the trial court for cases about matters of national ...
encouraged provinces to adopt execution vans in December 2003.
Makers of execution vans claim that, while expensive to purchase,
[ they are cheaper for poor localities than building execution facilities in jails and courthouses.]Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
is the only place where the drug is manufactured, the vans have allowed localities to administer the death sentence where the crime took place. As of June 2006, 40 execution vans have been manufactured by three companies, including Jinguan, in Jiangsu
Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...
and Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
.
Notable executions
On December 22, 2003, organized crime leader, Liu Yong, was executed in an execution van.
See also
* Gas van
* Police bus
* Prison bus
References
{{Reflist
Capital punishment in China
Execution equipment
Execution methods