Gee Jon
Gee Jon | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 朱家休 | |||||||||||
Nevada State Prison mugshot | |||||||||||
| Born | c. 1895 Canton, Qing China | ||||||||||
| Died | (aged 29) | ||||||||||
| Cause of death | Execution by gas chamber | ||||||||||
| Other names | Gee Gar Hue Jon Gee E. Z. John | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Cook | ||||||||||
| Known for | First person executed by gas chamber in the United States | ||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||||||||||
| Criminal status | Executed | ||||||||||
| Conviction | First degree murder | ||||||||||
| Criminal penalty | Death | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 朱家休 | ||||||||||
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Gee Jon (Chinese: 朱家休; c. 1895 – February 8, 1924) was a Chinese national who was the first person in the United States to be executed by lethal gas. A member of the Hip Sing Tong criminal society from San Francisco, California, Gee was sentenced to death for the murder of Tom Quong Kee, who was a member of the rivaling Bing Kung Tong in Mina, Nevada. An unsuccessful attempt to pump poison gas directly into his cell at Nevada State Prison led to the development of the gas chamber.