The New Capital Punishment

Author: spartan
Title: The New Capital Punishment
Date: 05 September 2010

“Gentlemen, I’ve called you in here because it looks like Congress is about to pass the new capital punishment law which the President has proposed, and we have to prepare to implement it. There is an emergency clause in the law, which means that they want it implemented immediately.“

Mr. Johnson, my boss, was speaking to Gary and me. We all worked for the Federal Department of Corrections Research Lab. Mr. Johnson was the head of the department and we were his two deputies. Mr. Johnson was about to be promoted to a much higher managerial position, and either Gary or me would be replacing him. So we were both looking for an opportunity to shine in whatever assignment we were given.

“As you know”, Mr. Johnson continued, “the death penalty was permanently eliminated and replaced in this country with life in prison without possibility of parole. Most states had already done so, but it is now a federal law. Because of the shortage of funding, resulting in the reduction of law enforcement officers, there has been an upsurge in crime and an upsurge in the number of people in prisons, resulting in another strain on funding. So the President has proposed turning some deep caves in this country into permanent incarceration facilities for those who are capital punishment cases. The idea is to set them up in permanently enclosed cells in permanent restraints with feeding tubes, elimination tubes, and wires attached to periodically flex their muscles. No expensive guards would be needed to police them. Society would be relieved of most of the expense for their upkeep, but they wouldn’t be executed -- just locked away to live out a bleak life, much as they do now at a far greater expense to society.

The new conservative majority in Congress decided that if these people were going to be permanently locked away then they should feel some punishment for what they did, in part as a deterrent to others. So amendments were added to the bill to require on-going punishment to the prisoners. This will include permanently being tortured, the level of which would be determined by the severity of their crimes. The conservative majority on the Supreme Court have stated that they will not consider this to be cruel and unusual punishment. Given the mood of the country, the President has decided that he would have to accept this modification in order to get the measure passed into law and implemented as quickly as possible. We have been given the task of implementing this. That means designing, and experimenting with, the torture that the prisoners will be given.

You are my two trusty assistants. I will need one of you to become the prisoner who is being tortured, testing out the various levels, and the other of you to be the person who will be doing the testing. Work it out between you two as to which will be which. I‘ll need your decision quickly.“ With that we were sent away from the meeting to make our decision.

So this was our new assignment, our opportunity to show our dedication and chance for advancement. Whew! Who was going to be the guinea pig? It looked like the one being tortured could be put into a life-threatening situation. Mr. Johnson knew this, and would likely reward the risk-taker. So the question was which of us could afford the risk. Gary had a wife and kids and I was single, no attachment outside of work. In fact, my work was my entire life. My parents had passed away and I had no other relatives or outside interests. So I decided to tell my thinking to Gary, without telling him about my thoughts of being rewarded for my risk-taking, and suggest that it would be best for all concerned if I was the one who would be tortured and he would be the one doing the testing. Gary readily agreed to this, his relief apparent, and we went back to tell Mr. Johnson of our decision.

Mr. Johnson told us that we needed to get started immediately, given the pace of the legislation, and that arrangements had already been made to set up such a cave facility and for the necessary equipment to be delivered there. We will be working with a representative from the company that he has contracted with to provide the equipment. But the company insists that anyone working their equipment always be wearing a special uniform of their design. So Gary will have to go in for the uniform measurements and get a buzz cut, I will have to be measured for tight-fitting restraints, and we will need to make our arrangements at home to be gone for an extended period of time. We are to leave that evening for the facility, and are to be shown everything by the company representative the next day. This was all so sudden, but when you’re constantly looking for an opportunity to show what you can do in order to get that rare chance for advancement, you have to jump at it. Mr. Johnson said that we, particularly me, would be owed a large debt of gratitude by our country. With that, he shook our hands and told us to get started.

When we met later to travel to the facility, I was somewhat surprised at how Gary’s appearance had changed, and realized it was the buzz cut. I asked him if he was able to arrange everything okay. He said that leaving his wife and kids was difficult, and that he’d had his measurements taken for the uniform. He seemed a bit puzzled by this, so I asked him what it was. He said that it was a tight-fitting thick leather uniform of pants, tunic with collar up to his chin forcing his head to stay up, that to bend down he’d have to bend at the waist, and boots, all parts highly glossed, designed to put fear in the prisoners. I suppressed a grin, visualizing Gary in this uniform trying to put fear into someone, but just said that the company specialized in this and seemed to know what it was doing. But the thought of Gary, of all people, in a uniform like he described was so incongruous.

It had been arranged for us to stay the night at a nearby hotel, and we checked in after arriving. After the first night we would be staying at the cave facility 24/7. I was to give myself a series of enemas before turning in, which I did. At breakfast the next morning we were met by the company representative. I was not to eat anything. He appeared to be into body building, as he was quite fit. Gary and I were required to be in shape as part of our job, but there was a difference -- this guy had muscle. The company rep asked who was the prisoner, and I said I was. He told Gary that he was going to have to get into the right frame of mind by becoming dominant over me, and needed to start ordering me around and answering for me. I was to accept whatever orders I was given, though I could challenge them if I wished to. It looked like we were beginning to role play before we ever got to the facility.

When we got there, I was impressed with how much progress had quickly been made. At the entrance, I was stripped naked, my wrists cuffed behind my back with shackles put on my legs and a chain connecting wrist cuffs with leg shackles. Both the company rep and Gary were away putting on their uniforms, and when I next saw Gary I was surprised at the change that had come over him. His leather uniform looked like it had been molded on him, and he exerted an air of authority in it, having an arrogance I’d not seen before in him. He ordered me down on the floor of the lift. I figure, screw this, and I told him where to go. Gary wasn’t my boss. He then hit me with a night stick he had on his belt. That hurt. I started chewing him out verbally for doing that, that he didn’t have to start physically assaulting his co-worker, when he pulled out a leather gag with something sticking several inches out of it which he proceeded to force into my mouth and strap on me. He ordered me down on the floor again, and I obeyed this time. I didn’t like the direction this was heading. We started the long descent into the cave on the lift.

When the lift containing us finally arrived at the cave bottom, Gary was given a metal collar which he locked tightly around my neck, pushing into it. A chain was attached, and Gary yanked me up by the chain and started leading me behind the company representative. The company rep was telling Gary that he was doing fine, praising his actions. We finally arrived at a cell that had been set up inside three concrete walls with a roof. This very small cell contained an iron chair with a high back, a bunch of metal enclosures which were opened, a few leather straps, and various devices with wires attached. The cell was only barely bigger than the chair. The entrance to it was small, with concrete blocks and all the necessary materials to finish making the fourth wall, though there was a small opening at the top for air to circulate through. The more I looked at that chair the more apprehensive I was getting about what I was going to be put through.

There were a couple of others there, dressed as Gary in similar uniforms, though theirs accentuated their more muscular bodies, and they took me roughly to the chair. First they lowered me onto a largish metal plug welded to the seat of the chair which had wires attached. I’d never had a plug in my butt before and I didn’t like it. Having my ass stretched like that hurt. Then they started strapping me into the chair. After they’d restrained me enough so that I couldn’t get out, they started removing some of the restraints that I’d had on to get there, only to replace them with more severe ones attached to the chair. The welded on collar was just as tight as the one they took off, though higher and more restrictive. It was affecting my breathing.

When they removed my gag, before I could say anything they immediately forced my mouth as wide as it would go and inserted a huge metal gag which completely filled my mouth. It had wires attached, as well as a small tube. The back part of the gag was welded as part of the iron chair. As long as I was in the chair and the gag was locked shut, there was no way I could say anything. My wrists were released from the cuffs and connecting chain and brought forward to be put in double cuffs, the inside ones thin and going tightly over the base of my hand, the outside ones wide with an indentation for the inside ones to fit in and going over a much wider part of the wrists and hands. These were also welded to the chair, as were the cuffs which now enclosed my arms above the elbows. When my ankles were out of their shackles they were likewise locked in tight cuffs welded to the chair, as were my legs both above and below the knee. Finally my stomach was tightly enclosed by a wide metal “belt” and locked shut, after I was first ordered by Gary to take a deep breath and hold it. I now understood why the measurements that had been taken of me before we left were so meticulous, since with the restraints on I’d become part of the chair. Gary ordered me to try to move, but I couldn’t. He hit me again with the night stick, and again ordered me to try to move. I tried as best I could, but try as I might, I couldn’t move.

Next a bunch of devices with wires were attached. They put them on various muscles where the straps held me in. They also put them on my penis, balls, and nipples. They also put a catheter on my penis for pissing, a tube attached which led elsewhere. It was very degrading being man-handled like I was, but I’d volunteered for this in order to advance my career, so I had to take it. They also put a needle into my arm which was attached to a tube descending from higher up in the cave. The tube attached to my gag also descended from higher up in the cave. These were the nourishment and liquid feeders. Finally everything was put on. They took a picture. They attached the wires to a nearby monitor. Each wire had to be carefully placed into the correctly color coded spot. At last everything was in place and they were ready to begin testing.

The company rep was explaining to Gary what the various knobs were and what they activated. It took quite awhile to explain and get Gary to remember. All this time I was left sitting there. I was pretty uncomfortable. I was anxious for this to get going and over so I could get out of the chair. The first buttons to be activated were the ones to flex my muscles. These were all tested, one by one, and left on after being switched. They were programmed to not flex them constantly, but only after a pre-specified period of time. After all, the object of this was to leave the machine and the prisoner and not have to have a human monitor.

After all the muscle flexes were done, then they started in on the torture parts. They first started switching on a shock into my penis. This was mild, and I started being aroused sexually. They left this on and switched on a mild shock into my butt plug. I was getting more aroused. They left this on and switched on a mild shock into my nipples. I was getting more aroused. They left this on and switched on a mild shock into my mouth. This was aggravating, since it hit some nerves near dental fillings, but had no effect on my arousal. Last they switched on a mild shock into my balls. This aroused me a little more.

The switches were left on while the company rep was explaining about the various levels and turning them up individually. Then the shocks changed from steady to random, again one at a time. Finally the company rep told Gary to experiment with turning up the various levels. At breakfast we had discussed what to start with and what would be appropriate for testing. We had decided that, at least initially, we would start out at a level which would be punishing, but not too much, leaving the really punishing, pushing the limits of what someone could endure, for the final testing.

Initially, the company rep upped the levels of the shocks. They were definitely punishing, no question. But my reaction surprised all of us. My penis got hard, and I started cumming. The liquid I was shooting out got onto some of the wires and started shorting them out. None of us, especially me, had expected this reaction. I had always been straight, had had no interest in bondage or gay sex, and had no idea I would react this way. Gary was also surprised, and wondered what kind of a guy he’d been working with. To the company rep, it was just something that the test showed that they hadn’t planned for, and needed to address. So the test was stopped, I was left as I was with all the knobs turned off, and Gary and the company rep departed to figure out what needed to be changed. They were gone quite awhile.

Later they came back with a chastity device, which worked in conjunction with the catheter and shock attachments. They locked it over my penis, and started up the testing again. This time when the company rep upped the shock levels and I started getting sexually aroused, there wasn’t anything I could do about it. The company rep and Gary seemed pleased that something unexpected like this had come up in the test and that they could fix the problem. They decided to leave me like I was at the shock level I was in and left for the day. I wasn’t able to go anywhere, it wasn’t too comfortable, but I couldn’t say or do anything about it. But I understood why because we were under a time constraint and needed to get test results.

It was many hours before Gary and the company rep returned. I guess it had become night without my realizing it. I wasn’t able to get much sleep being in the position I was in. But both Gary and the company rep looked well rested, anxious to get started.

The first thing the company rep did was to ask Gary to explain each of the various knobs. Gary wasn’t able to do so completely accurately, so the company rep had to again explain each of them and demonstrate. Finally, the company rep decided to up the shock levels on one of the devices on me. This provoked a verbal response, the first I’d given since I’d been gagged, which came out as a barely audible grunt. Gary got a smile on his face at hearing my feeble “yell“. The company rep was all business, and started upping the level on the others, one by one, explaining them to Gary. With each one I started “yelling” more. Pretty soon I was really being punished. Gary seemed to be enjoying it. They left me like this for awhile as they came into the cell to get a closer look at me, my attachments, and my reactions. They also wanted to make sure that the feed and discharge tubes were working properly.

Then they went back to the monitor and the company rep starting grilling Gary about what each of the knobs were and how they worked. This time Gary got everything correct that the company rep was asking him. So the company rep said it was time for Gary to be at the controls. With that the company rep turned everything off and told Gary to get started.

Gary started by beginning with the muscle flexing devices. Then he started turning on each of the punishing shock devices one by one. He started out at the level they had just had me on, and again I let out a “yell” as each of them was turned to the previous level. This was just plain punishment. Gary was concentrating on what he was doing and didn’t seem at all fazed by my reactions. Finally he was finished and the company rep complimented him on a job well done.

The company rep said it was time to up the levels to a greater punishment. He wanted to see how high a level I could stand, without rendering me unconscious or worse. This was what I’d been dreading. So Gary started upping the levels again, one by one, but just one notch, not all the way. I was really starting to “yell” and get punished. I “yelled” so loudly into that huge gag that in that quiet cave they could actually hear me. I wasn’t liking this one bit. My penis was straining to get hard but couldn’t. Everything about my position was aching and hurt, especially the nerve endings in my mouth. My whole body was racked with pain. But I could tolerate it.

So Gary upped the levels one notch again. I was starting to profusely sweat in addition to my “yelling” at the top of my lungs. I just wanted this extreme torture to stop. My mind couldn’t function any more, since it was consumed with my pain. There was no objective any more for what I was doing, there was no feeling of serving my country with my sacrifice, there was no sense of duty, just severe, intense, excruciating pain. I tried with all my being to loosen myself from my bonds, but they wouldn’t give. I was completely consumed with my pain, nothing else existed for me.

Gary and the company rep realized that this was the limit level of what I could endure, and they figured that this would be the top level. They then wanted to find out whether there would be any long term bad effects, so they decided to leave me like I was for 24 hours. With that they left. THOSE BASTARDS!!!

When they finally returned, after what seemed to me to be a lifetime away, I was still “yelling“. They took a good inspection of me, were satisfied, turned the knobs to “off“ and pushed the button which opened all the metal restraints. I was absolutely, totally wasted physically. Both the company rep and Gary were quite pleased with how the testing had gone, and said that they were ready for the first prisoner to be delivered. While I was being tested, the paper work had shot through Congress, with the President signing it, and everyone was waiting for our test to end so they could begin implementation.

After I was no longer acting as the prisoner, Gary’s attitude toward me returned to that of a company colleague. The first prisoner was to be delivered that afternoon. Mr. Johnson had come down for the proceedings, and had arranged for the media to be there later after we had gotten the prisoner secured and ready. The first prisoner was a mass murderer who had tortured and killed random people for the sheer pleasure it gave him. His idol was the fictional Hannibal Lecter of Silence of the Lambs fame. In short, under the new law, this guy was to get the highest level of torture we could dish out.

Gary and I and the company rep were all there in the background when the high security people delivered the prisoner. The other company people in uniform did the work of securing the guy in the chair I’d tested, securing him as they had secured me. I was surprised at how similar to me he was -- same build, same height, same relative age, same color hair and eyes. The restraints set for me fit him perfectly. But there the resemblance ended. The prisoner showed no signs of remorse, and in fact, showed himself to be an arrogant guy with the utmost disdain for everybody else. Considering what he’d done, I had no problem looking forward to what he was going to get. I suddenly realized that they had been taking measurements of prospective prisoners, and this guy was the one to correspond to mine, which is why he was chosen as the first; otherwise, the custom-made chair wouldn’t fit.

Mr. Johnson had arrived, congratulated us on our work, particularly me, and, after looking at what state I was now in, told me to take two months off, to go somewhere without telling anyone where I was going, gave me a check for $10,000 to cover expenses, and told me to just forget about work during this vacation, to leave now and have others take care of the remaining work. I appreciated that and told him so, and he left, together with the company rep. Badly as I needed the time to recuperate, I wanted to stay a little longer. I hadn’t had a chance to study the monitor.

Gary and I were left alone there at the monitor with the prisoner well-secured in that iron chair. Gary decided to test out all the knobs on the monitor to make sure they were working for Mr. Johnson’s media show. There was a lot of interest in this, the first prisoner to be incarcerated and punished under the new law. Gary got the muscle flexing switches on, checked and made sure the feeding, liquid and piss tubes were attached and working, and started turning on the knobs for the shocks. The prisoner was set up as I had been, chastity device included. As the punishment knobs were turned initially on to the level I had been left at, the prisoner looked shocked and started yelling into his gag like I did. But then he suddenly stopped breathing. Gary and I had been focusing our attention on the monitor, and when we realized the prisoner had stopped breathing it was too late to do anything.

Now what do we do? Our boss and the media were going to be here shortly, expecting to see a demonstration of our punishment equipment. But there was no one to punish. I knew that the plan was that after Mr. Johnson and the media later left, we would be testing everything a final time before actually pulling the lever to permanently lock the restraints and the monitor to its settings, and have the masons wall in the cell. So I explained this to Gary, told him we needed to remove the prisoner and hide his body, and I would become the prisoner for Mr. Johnson‘s media show, and afterwards Gary could remove me and we would put the dead prisoner back. We could always say later that the prisoner died of natural causes, which he did. The masons wouldn’t want to get near the guy to see if he was dead or alive. It would be awhile before someone noticed he had died. No one would be questioning the death of such an animal.

It took Gary longer to think through everything. I was afraid he’d be concentrating on the fact that his action had just killed someone, and we needed to act quickly. Finally he realized that this was our only way of looking good for both our boss and the country, he agreed and we quickly set to work. After Gary had secured me and gotten everything set up, we only had a little time to think of anything we’d forgotten before hearing the approach of people. The last thing Gary did was to put the chair’s huge metal gag in my mouth and connect the wire.

Mr. Johnson was instructing the media about what a horrible person the prisoner was, something the media already knew, but he was talking to the public through the media. I tried to assume the look of arrogant disdain the prisoner had shown. Then Mr. Johnson showed the cell and the monitor to the media, explaining everything as he did so. Gary was standing there erect in his uniform with that look of arrogance he‘d acquired, and the media was also interested in taking pictures of him. Then Mr. Johnson told Gary to start firing it up. As Gary would turn on each knob he would explain what he was doing. Gary could always give a good presentation, and he did a good job there as well. But when he got to the punishing parts, he decided to start at a medium level for each, not starting at the peak as he’d done for the prisoner, so that the sudden shock wouldn’t kill me, too. He explained this, and then he started upping the levels.

Soon I was back to my unbelievably horrible pain that I’d experienced earlier. I was “yelling” and sweating and straining against my metal bonds, which would obviously not give. I put on quite a show for the media, though I wasn’t acting. While all this was happening Mr. Johnson was explaining that this was how someone who was guilty of a heinous crime was now going to be punished, that this was going to be the deterrent to future crime that the death penalty was supposed to be but wasn’t. The media was eating it up, as they were my part, though I had no eyes or thoughts for any of that, just for my intense pain.

Finally one of the media asked when the prisoner would be walled up, wanting to get pictures of this taking place. At hearing this, Gary starting explaining that they needed to do some final testing before going ahead with the final permanent closure. Mr. Johnson, seeing his opportunity to further his message with the public through the media coverage, said nonsense, that there was no reason why they couldn’t get started now, and motioned to bring in the masons. One little part of my mind picked this up, and I looked horrified at Gary. Gary’s face showed a lot of different conflicting thoughts going slowly through it, and the last look I got of it sent chills up my spine. He had realized his opportunity for advancement, and had decided to grab it by saying and doing nothing. After all, the whole show would be given away if he did. Mr. Johnson had been explaining that they were using quick setting cement that would be permanently in place shortly after the last block was laid as the masons started in their work. And I saw Gary pull the lever on the monitor which permanently locked everything in place.

I was “yelling” and screaming, “NO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O“, though in reality very little noise came through that enormous gag. There was nothing I could do about it. My remaining life would now be one of constant intense, excruciating, mind-numbing pain, walled-off from the rest of the world.

After the cell was walled up, the media had gotten their pictures and left, only Mr. Johnson and Gary were left, with me behind the wall. Mr. Johnson was walking out with Gary and said, “Too bad Frank wasn’t here for this. He certainly gave his all for this project. But I’m sure he’s going to enjoy his next two months vacation.”

Gary replied, “I’m sure he will, Mr. Johnson. But he told me in confidence that he was so traumatized from this ordeal that he might make the vacation permanent. If you don‘t mind, you go ahead, I‘d like to take a little time myself to unwind by exploring this awesome cave. Some of the big openings look to be bottomless. And I assume I‘ll need to stay here in this uniform to process the next prisoners until a replacement can be trained. In fact, since I‘m now shown everywhere in the country in this uniform, I plan to wear it all the time when I get back, to remind people of this new law. I‘ll have to get some spares made.” Mr. Johnson thought Gary would want to get out of that uncomfortable looking uniform, but he could see Gary’s point, and said that he agreed.

Frank’s life had been changed dramatically. Gary’s had changed as well.


(Note to readers -- There is a flaw in this story which I decided to leave in as a challenge to readers to see if they can discover it. If you do, though, please don’t say what it is in the comments section -- let others see if they can discover it.)