The Omega Suites

In the 1990s, photographer Lucinda Devlin started a series of photographs of gas chambers, injection rooms, electric chairs, and death row cells in rural US penitentiaries. The purpose wasn't to highlight any particular view on the death penalth, but rather to show the environment in which death takes place. 

"I wasn’t prepared for this. Looming in front of me was a massive, gray bunker. It looked impenetrable. Guard towers ascended at each end and concertina wire was set atop the wall all the way around. I don’t know what I was expecting, but my heart was beating wildly as I was asked to remove my belt and shoes. After being thoroughly searched, my hand was stamped with an invisible substance which glowed under ultraviolet light, and I was escorted through successive barred doors. The guard accompanying me was young and not too tall, but he obviously spent a lot of time with weights. He was taut and not just because of his well muscled body. It was also in his demeanor. In fact, this tension was palpable all around me. When I began this photographic project, I had little knowledge of the death penalty in America. But one cannot go in and out of maximum security prisons and view a wide assortment of spaces intended for killing people without becoming curious about the laws, the people charged with carrying out those laws, the living environments, and most importantly, the inmates on death row who are irrevocably affected by this singular punishment."

Lethal Injection Chamber, Nevada State Prison, Carson City, Nevada

Electric Chair, Somers Correctional Institution, Somers, Connecticut

Autopsy Room, Giorgia

Electric Chair, Greensville Correctional Facility, Jarratt, Virginia

Electric Chair, Greenhaven, NYExecutioner’s Room, Greenhaven Correctional Facility, NY

Final Holding Cell, Greensville Correctional Facility, Jarratt, Virginia

Electric Chair, Indiana State Prison, Michigan City, Indiana

Lethal Injection Chamber, Petosi Correctional Center, Petosi, Missouri

Lethal Injection Chamber, Texas State Prison, Huntsville, Texas

Lethal Injection Chamber, Territorial Correctional Facility, Canon City, CO

Witness Room, Petosi Correctional Center, Petosi, Missouri

Lethal Injection Chamber from Witness Room, Cummins Unit, Grady, AR

Lethal Injection Chamber from Family Witness Room, Parchman State Penitentiary, MississippiElectric Chair, Holman Unit, Atmore, Alabama

Taser Photoshoot

People zap their loved ones with a taser. The zappers look everything between immensely guilty and worryingly happy. The zappees mostly look concerned and shocked. The photographer, Patrick Hall, is just an evil genius. 

Extended - with zappers. 

Joints

After two gloriously sunny weeks away, I find myself catching up with all kinds of stuff, much of which belongs here. To begin with, here are are some joints.