El chair execution. Execution in the electric chair: what a person feels

18.04.2020

Electric chair

Electric shock is not as severe as the sword and guillotine, but it creates a feeling of painful uncertainty about the moment of death. Photo "Sigma".

The expansion of the scope of the industrial application of electricity in the 19th century should of itself lead to the idea that the power of electricity provides new, "progressive" possibilities for killing.

The first electric current generator in the United States was demonstrated in New York in 1882. Eight years later, in 1890, electricity was already taking its first steps as a legal technical means executions.

"Electric chair" is one of the most controversial tools of killing, causing doubts even among supporters death penalty, - appeared as a result of an economic and industrial war between two competing companies that defended the superiority of different types of current: alternating and direct.

The St. Quentin prison building, which houses the electric chair. American Department of Corrections Archives. Qty. Monestier.

It all started in New York City in 1882, when the inventor of the electric light bulb and phonograph, Thomas Edison, opened his first power station on Pearl Street to light the commercial and financial center of the city.

Four years later, in March 1886, engineer George Westinghouse, the inventor of the air brake, bought several patents and founded his electric company. It will illuminate the entire city of Great Barrington.

With this, the confrontation between the two technological concepts began ... Thomas Edison produces and supplies direct current, and George Westinghouse - alternating current, which leads to irreconcilable rivalry between the two largest scientists of our era.

George Westinghouse's alternating current was soon found to be more efficient and - most importantly - more cost-effective than Thomas Edison's direct current. And the stakes are high: serving the residential and industrial sectors of the entire American continent.

Gradually, Thomas Edison begins to lose ground in the market, many of his technical and sales specialists move to a competitor's company. Edison, urged on by the shareholders, decides to act and launches a major press campaign to discredit AC, presenting it as extremely dangerous. Edison's calculation is simple: by suggesting to readers that alternating current is associated with a mortal risk, to push them to use direct current for domestic needs.

Population outrage

At the instigation of Edison, one Harold Brown - the actual inventor of the electric chair (1888) - writes a long article in the New York Evening Post about the dangers of alternating current, in which he accuses entrepreneurs and industrialists of putting their own financial interests ahead of safety consumers. George Westinghouse answers him through the newspaper, he denies the accusations made, pointing out that Harold Brown does not have the technical qualifications to make such statements. Defending his case, Harold Brown openly enters into cooperation with Thomas Edison and uses his laboratories for a series of tests. He even undertakes a tour of the country with a peculiar performance in which dogs, cats, monkeys and even horses are electrocuted in front of local authorities, journalists and businessmen. In an effort to prove that Thomas Edison's direct current is more suitable for domestic and industrial applications, he shows a number: Animals that survive 1,000 volts DC with less than 300 volts AC die.

An autopsy showed that the brain of the executed man resembled a "burnt cupcake." Engraving. Private Col.

Harold Brown ended his trip to Columbia with a nationwide press conference, where he invited not only journalists from all over the country, but also a huge number of professional electricians: in front of the assembled crowd, he electrocuted a dog weighing 38 kg, thus demonstrating, as he thought, the danger of alternating current, and solemnly declared: "Alternating current is suitable only for the destruction of dogs in receivers and cattle in the slaughterhouse." In the end, he made a dubious joke, adding: "Or for the execution of those sentenced to death."

Chronicle of electrocution

Electric shock theoretically proceeds as a continuous automatic cycle for two minutes. When the executioner applies a current of 1900-2500 volts - depending on the model of the chair used - it gets on the copper wires of the contact plate of the helmet, from which the convict should instantly lose consciousness and no longer feel pain.

The two-minute cycle is subdivided into 8 consecutive series of 5 and 25 seconds.

- The current strength ranges from 5 to 15 amperes. When the apparatus is turned on, the convict usually jerks forward sharply, and if he were not securely strapped to the chair, he would be thrown several meters away.

- According to numerous stories of direct witnesses, during the first cycle, losing consciousness, the convict completely loses control over muscular activity. He urinates and defecates. He often vomits blood and bites his tongue.

- During the second cycle, blood bubbles out of his nose.

- From the third to the fifth cycle, the body temperature rises above 100 degrees, the skin acquires a purple hue. Fibrillation and paralysis of the airways occur.

- On the seventh and eighth cycles, the circulatory system of the brain "burns out", and often the eyes crawl out of their sockets. The top of the head becomes black with a bright pink border.

For the execution of the condemned, a suit is sewn to order. As linen, they give out tight shorts made of cotton jersey with elastic bands at the waist and hips and an absorbent pad.

Persons present at the execution:

- the director of the prison, who gives the order to "turn on the current";

- the officer responsible for the execution, who, together with two or three guards, prepares the convict and puts him on a chair;

- an electrician who connects cables and electrodes and monitors the technical side of the execution;

- a doctor certifying the death of the convict;

- an executioner appointed by the court, who carries out the execution, hidden from prying eyes;

- officials, including a representative of the state governor;

- accredited journalists and lawyers of the convict;

- persons indicated by the convict himself.

Pamphlets are distributed to witnesses of the execution, which detail the procedure for killing.

Official witnesses and journalists are required to remain silent during the entire procedure. They are in a glass room. Thanks to the acoustic system, guests can hear everything that happens around the electric chair.

A direct telephone line is set up between the state governor's office and the "chair" room, in case a last-minute postponement decision is made.

Among the most famous executed in the electric chair: Sacco and Vanzetti (1927); Bruno Hauptmann (1935), kidnapped the child of the famous American aviator Lindbergh; Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (1953), accused of espionage.

Execution of Liz Place, the first woman to be electrocuted in 1899 in New York State. Private Col.

History reference

In November 1990, 2,151 US convicts were awaiting execution, 600 of them in the electric chair.

A large number of minors were executed in the electric chair. The last execution of a teenager took place on October 10, 1984 in South Carolina.

Of the 28 minors who were in the "corridor of death" in 1989, 11 were sentenced to the electric chair.

The record for the number of convicts awaiting execution by electric shock belongs to Florida: 315 people as of July 1992, 35% of them blacks. Then come Pennsylvania with 113 convicts, Georgia with 105, Tennessee with 69 and Virginia with 38.

The two electric chairs most frequently used by convicts over the past sixty years are at Ridesvilk (Georgia, 300 executions) and Rayford (Florida, 196 executions).

Many of the electric chairs in use in the US were supplied by Westinghouse, others by local electricians, and one by the prisoners themselves.

The Miami Herald published in 1988 administration-confirmed figures showing that Florida had spent $57 million on electrocutions since 1976. This figure includes the cost of staying on death row in prison, the cost of appeal procedures. The state's total cost per person sentenced to the electric chair was estimated at $3.17 million, six times the cost of a forty-year prison sentence.

A similar study of convicts in Tennessee cites a figure of $3-5 million per convict. In New York State, a 1982 study published that, on average, a criminal process followed by an appeal procedure costs about $1.8 million, or twice as much as a person's lifetime allowance.

The electric chair itself cost thirty thousand dollars in 1966.

The hidden meaning of the “performances” of Harold Brown did not escape the group of legislators in the state of New York, where a special commission created by the governor was working on the invention of a method of execution more humane than hanging. Recently, several very cruel executions have taken place, which have caused outrage among the broad masses. In particular, the unsuccessful hanging of one convict: his spine remained intact, and the man swayed on a rope for twenty minutes, being in a clear mind, and died, choking on saliva. In addition, the press often reported on accidents when an electric shock caused a quick death without obvious bodily harm.

In 1881, the death of Samuel Smith of Buffalo, New York was widely reported in the press, his death was described as quick and painless, and this planted in the minds of many figures the idea that it was electric shock that could be the desired method of execution.

From 1883 to 1888, there were about 250 fatal accidents due to electric shock.

First electric chair

An ardent abolitionist, Thomas Edison hoped to destroy a competitor, testifying before the commission that death by electric shock occurs quickly and painlessly. Provided, of course, that Westinghouse alternating current is used.

Perhaps electricity will finally make the death penalty technically perfect and impeccable from the point of view of humanity. Edison's DC exploitation company is about to strike the decisive blow. She imports from Thailand half a dozen orangutans, large apes the size of a man, who are killed by alternating current as a warning to legislators. This sinister ceremony is said to have prompted them to become more familiar with the "wonderful world of electricity". Doctors interviewed are favorable, arguing that electric shock will lead to instant death due to cardiac arrest and paralysis of the respiratory apparatus. The U.S. Supreme Court debates and concludes that this type of execution is consistent with the Eight Amendments to the Constitution, which prohibits "cruel and inhuman punishment."

On June 4, 1889, New York state legalizes electrocution, instructing the state medical service to settle the technical details. Soon, of course, Harold Brown is called. He resumes a series of animal tests at Edison Laboratories and concludes that the execution should be carried out with a current of 300 volts for 15 seconds.

The first discharge is the most powerful, then the voltage is gradually reduced, and at the end it is again increased to a maximum.

Harold Brown designs the first electric chair in history. He is assisted by Dr. George Fell of Buffalo. Harold Brown and Thomas Edison considered their goal achieved: Westinghouse's alternating current would soon become known as the "execution current", the "inevitable death current".

George Westinghouse sues over the scientific validity of Harold Brown's tests, emphasizing that this Edison employee has one goal: to frighten the public by convincing them that alternating current is dangerous in the home.

Despite the lack of consensus, an ordinance signed by the Chief of Corrections, Harold Brown, is allowed to install his electric chair at Auburn State Prison. He is determined to do everything to make the chair associated with the name of a competitor, and makes an attempt to buy three powerful generators from Westinghouse's firm. As you might guess, they refuse him there. Thomas Edison again steps in and arranges with Thomson Houston Electric to purchase for him, through a Boston dealer in used electrical apparatus, the above-mentioned generators.

Organs for sale

In the People's Republic of China, the authorities have found a way to profit from crime: those sentenced to death serve as an "organ bank" for transplants.

In the early 1980s, Chinese officials decided that the organs of the executed could be used as a source of foreign exchange earnings. Thus, the Chinese, through the mediation of doctors working in Hong Kong, who supply them with Western clients, have become famous in the field of kidney transplants.

One responsible person in China, whose words were published in June 1991 by Puen magazine, cited a figure of 1,000 transplants per year since 1990. And that's just the data on the kidneys. The number of transplants of other organs is not known, but we are probably talking about very significant numbers.

Considering that about 1,000 official executions take place in China every year (in fact, many more), it is understandable why Chinese officials are pleased to note "that China is the only country in the world that has a surplus of organs."

There is only one step left before the commissioned execution, which the Chinese authorities may have already taken, given a pamphlet circulating in Hong Kong touting the value for money of Nanjing's communist hospitals: francs". “The kidney comes from a living donor,” the brochure clarifies. In 1992, Taiwan's justice minister, Liu Yu Wen, declared that all those sentenced to death in his country should voluntarily donate their organs to the state.

The first criminal chosen to test the "modern method" of execution - or "induction electric current into the body, ”to follow the official wording, was the name of Francis Kemmeler. He was sentenced to death for hacking a man with an axe. George Westinghouse hires lawyers for him to appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that electrocution is unconstitutional, cruel, and inhuman.

A court hearing is scheduled, where Harold Brown and Thomas Edison are summoned, who once again confirm that death from alternating current occurs quickly and painlessly. Both swear that their position has nothing to do with financial interests. Francis Kemmeler's lawyers are denied an appeal.

On April 6, 1890, Francis Kemmeler was led into the execution room of Auburn Prison. It was 6 hours 30 minutes. He was shaved and stripped down to his underpants. “Take your time and do everything right,” he tells the director of the prison. A few minutes later, he asks that the electrode attached to the helmet be tightened.

About forty people attended his execution, half of those invited were doctors and physicists.

The public, startled but curious, had twenty minutes to inspect the execution instrument before the condemned man was brought in.

The execution of Francis Kemmeler - the first executed in the electric chair. 1890 The execution lasted 17 minutes and caused a wave of protests around the world. Engraving. Private count

A room behind glass, from where witnesses and journalists monitor the execution. Archives of the Louisina Department of Corrections. Qty. Monestier.

Judicial errors

Many famous mathematicians of the 19th century, including Laplace, Cournot and Poisson, tried to determine, on the basis of the theory of probability, the proportion of erroneous and justified sentences. Thus, Poisson carefully analyzed the French criminal procedure. According to the famous scientist, the mathematical probability of a miscarriage of justice in France is 1 in 257 death sentences. Professors Hugo Bedo and Michael Radele proved that in the 20th century in the United States, 349 innocent people were convicted of crimes punishable by death. 23 of them were executed. This data takes into account only those cases when the true killer was found and the judicial authorities admitted their mistake.

The American Civil Liberties Association says 25 cases.

It was a wide and heavy wooden chair, behind which was a control panel with three huge levers.

Two thick four-meter electric wires stretched from the panel, to which pre-wetted electrodes were connected.

The convict was tied to a chair, a metal helmet was put on his head. An electrode was attached to the helmet. The second electrode - long and flat - was pressed to the back with a belt. After checking everything for the last time, they gave the first discharge of 300 volts, which lasted 17 seconds. Having received a blow, Kemmeler began to convulse, nearly knocking over his chair. Officials noted that henceforth the chair should be fixed to the floor.

Kemmeler was still alive. Then they gave me a second grade. The body of the condemned turned red and began to char, emitting a strong smell and yellowish smoke, which covered the witness stand. Three minutes later the power was turned off.

Oh God! The man seemed to be still alive. The current was turned on again, as a result, "a tiny blue light swept up and down his back."

Finally, the condemned man died. An autopsy showed that the brain of the executed man became like a “burnt cupcake”, the blood in the head coagulated and turned black, and the back was completely charred. Both doctors officially stated that the convict did not suffer.

Part of American society applauded the new invention as "a step forward on the path to higher civilization" and "the triumph of science and humanism over barbarism and atrocity." Others were outraged after reading the horrifying stories in the press. When a serious morning newspaper headlined its article "Kemmeler Westenghausen", Thomas Edison thought that his victory was not far off.

The Medical Commission and the state deputies found themselves in a very difficult position after the unsuccessful execution of Kemmeler. Harold Brown and Thomas Edison were required to improve the technical aspect of subsequent executions.

The electrodes were first attached to the head and back, then to the head and calf muscle. At the suggestion of Thomas Edison, they tried to attach them to the palms. The seven executions carried out in this way were horrendous. Some convicts who could not be executed immediately died only when the location of the electrodes was changed, returning to the head-leg option.

Execution of juvenile offenders

In the 1980s, juvenile offenders were executed in eight countries: Bangladesh, Barbados, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Rwanda, Pakistan, and the United States. In the 1990s, 72 countries specifically stipulated in their legislation that a criminal under the age of 18 could not be sentenced to death.

Between 1974 and 1991, 92 juvenile delinquents, including 4 girls, were sentenced to death in the United States.

In 1989, the US Supreme Court ruled that it was not against the constitution to execute 16-year-old criminals.

Of the 37 US states that have the death penalty in their laws, 26 have it applicable to offenders under the age of 18: Idaho, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Washington, Wyoming, Vermont, Virginia, South Dakota, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Florida.

Of the 26 states in which the death penalty is applicable to minors, ell there is no clearly defined age limit: Idaho, Arizona, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming, South Dakota, Delaware, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Florida. At 15, the lower age limit is less than 18:

- Montana: 12 years old.

- Mississippi: 13 years.

- Alabama, Missouri, Utah: 14 years.

- Arkansas, Louisiana, Virginia: 15 years.

- Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada: 16 years old.

- North Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire, Texas: 17 years.

According to research by Professor Victor Streib of the University of Cleveland, between 1600 and 1991, 286 juvenile delinquents, including 9 girls, were legally executed in the United States for crimes committed as minors. Twelve of them were under 14 at the time of the crime, three were 12, and one was 10 years old. Most juveniles were executed in the 20th century - 190 out of 286 executions took place after 1905.

The youngest person to be executed in the 20th century was Fortune Fergusson, who was hanged in 1927 at the age of 16 for a rape he committed at 13.

Two sixteen-year-old suicide bombers. USA. 1959 Photo "Keyston".

First woman to be electrocuted

The first woman to be electrocuted was named Liz Place. She was put to death in 1899 in the state of New York for the murder of her daughter-in-law and husband. The sentenced woman was warned about the method of execution a few hours before the execution and was transported to the Sing Sing men's prison, at that time the only one in the state where there was an electric chair.

The press reported that the victim demonstrated the highest degree mental courage. She sat down in the electric chair without hesitation and allowed herself to be bound without a single word. But this time, the execution was not up to the mark. As they wrote in the press, "she did not die from the first discharge of 1700 volts, although it lasted forty seconds." Witnesses saw how her lips moved between the first and second discharges: she was praying. The spectacle turned out to be so terrifying that the confessor could not bear it and turned away. After the second discharge, the blackened, half-charred body was finally removed from the chair. The electrodes stuck to the body, after the second discharge, the head began to “roast”. The journalist concluded: "The last word in the improvement of the execution process has not yet been said, since death does not occur instantly, as we would like."

Indeed, like all novelties, electrocution presented some problems that needed to be “finished”.

According to many, these problems have not disappeared to this day. But, despite the unreliability of this method of execution, electric shock began to be used more and more often. In 1906, more than a hundred criminals sat on a chair, which by that time had been awarded with many nicknames that are still used in the underworld.

The abolitionists, whose outrage grew over the years, were told that since 1905 there had been about 500 accidental electric shocks a year in the country and that the unfortunate people died absolutely painlessly. Since the first execution by electric shock, which took place in 1890, each subsequent one has become an occasion for long and serious disputes among specialists.

What is the "ideal voltage" really? 1350 volts at the beginning of the execution looks rather weak. So how much: 1750? 1900? 2000? 2500? What are the limits of current fluctuations: 7.5-10 amperes, 15 or 20? Is it necessary to take into account the weight of the convict? Heart size? Health status?

Today, medicine admits that some individuals tolerate electric shock better. In the period between the world wars, there was an opinion that these were people of small stature, anemic and almost consumptive. It was even believed that one should not neglect such factors as temperature environment and the last meal menu.

Execution in 1933 of Zangara, murderer of the mayor of Chicago. Qty. Monestier.

It is easier to kill a person with an electric shock when a discharge of 10,000 or 20,000 volts, from 50 to 100 amperes, passes through the body. Then he will die instantly, but the corpse will be so disfigured that there will be little left of it at all. However, Judeo-Christian morality requires respect for the body, and justice requires at least a minimum of decency, and the difficulty was to find a tension that could kill at once without causing visible bodily harm. Despite the existing technical problems, Americans at the beginning of the 20th century were by and large quite satisfied with the incomparable scientific achievement which was an electric shock. They praised his virtues so much that many countries sent competent observers to the United States. So, in 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II sent the famous criminologist Boris Fressdenthal to the United States to observe the execution procedure and express his opinion on the introduction of this method of killing into the German criminal code.

Boris Fressdantal was not attracted by the new method of execution. He wrote: “Electrical shock is not as cruel as the sword and guillotine we use, but one serious reproach can be made to this method - uncertainty, painful uncertainty, regarding the exact moment of death. Has it really happened or is it just an appearance? How much time exactly elapses between the application of the current and the loss of consciousness? In his conclusion, he categorically rejects the introduction of this method in Germany, citing the technical imperfection of the execution.

In 1950, the British Royal Commission, which conducted a study of the methods of the death penalty, made a similar conclusion. Recall that in many American states this method was abandoned, out of the twenty-three states that used it in 1967, only fourteen remained by the end of the 20th century, in others they preferred to execute by hanging, gas chamber or execution, and since 1977 - by means of death. injections.

Only the Philippines and Taiwan used the electric chair for a while, but then returned to shooting.

Over the 20th century, a lot of terrible evidence of executions in the electric chair has accumulated. Kurt Rossa, referring to the testimony of Congressman and Senator Emmanuel Teller, describes one failed execution that took place in 1926. A woman named Judo was executed in the electric chair. “The toggle switch was turned on, the current went. The woman arched her back in her chair, but did not lose consciousness. The body was thrown from side to side ... The executioner changed the power of the current and again gave a discharge. Discharge after discharge passed through the body of the convict, but she did not lose consciousness and remained alive. Then they gave 2000 volts. An eternity passed, my eyes were still sparkling, the prosecutor made a sign to the executioner to turn off the current ... The unfortunate woman was still alive.

She was taken to the prison medical unit, and the director of the prison, under pressure from witnesses and journalists, called the governor to ask for a pardon. He objected that there was no document allowing him to make such a decision. An hour later, the convict was returned to the execution room, where this time she died from the first discharge.

Deadly performances

Since the early 1980s, there has been an increase in the number of countries carrying out public executions, often broadcast on radio and television.

States addicted to this grim spectacle include: Angola, Cameroon, United Arab Emirates, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Mozambique, Pakistan, Uganda, North Yemen, Somalia, Liberia, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and China as part of a national anti-crime campaign.

Most often, such executions, which gathered thousands of spectators, were execution and hanging. In 1992, 27 people were publicly hanged in Afghanistan; in Saudi Arabia 66 people were beheaded.

In 1928, Joseph Lang, executioner at the Columbus State Prison (Ohio), testifies: “The first discharge of 1150 volts was not fatal, the heart was beating smoothly. And the second one didn't work. Then the voltage was tripled. 3,000 volts. A bright flame engulfed the body shaking in convulsions, and the execution hall was filled with the smell of fried meat ... However, the cause of death was not the actual electric shock in the narrow sense of the word, but the burning of the body. In 1941, after an electrocution in New York, the chaplain of Sing Sing prison wrote the following: “One might have thought that these were burns from lying too long in the bright sun, the whole body was swollen, acquiring a dark red color.”

In 1946, another witness stated: “The blood vessels swelled so that they burst ... The steam enveloped the head and bare knees, the latter acquired a black-and-blue color. Lips turned black, foam came out of the mouth.

The performers were most afraid of the possibility of breakage. In the first quarter of the 20th century, the machine was tested on a large piece of meat. Later, the law determined the mandatory presence of a qualified electrician during the entire execution. In the event of a power failure, he was responsible for the immediate connection of the electric chair to the diesel generator installed in almost all "death rooms".

1900 volts and 7.5 amps: the perfect combination for the kill. Private count

The American court chronicles mention an accident that occurred in 1938 in the Huntsville prison (Texas), when the convict was already put on a chair. The chair could not be turned on for several hours, and all this time the convict repeated: “Pardon! Pardon! It's God's will!" As a result, the execution was postponed for three days, despite thousands of demonstrators who rallied outside the prison building in defense of the convict. Do not think that age-old practice has brought clear improvements in the process of electric shock.

Another failure occurred in July 1989 during the execution of Horace Dunkens in Alabama. Due to a wiring defect, the first discharge did not kill the convict. It took the electricians about ten minutes to fix the problem, and all the while the heart of Dunkens, tied to a chair, was beating furiously. His death was announced nineteen minutes after the first discharge.

In December 1984, the New York Times published an article describing the execution of Alpha Otis Stephen, which took place in a Georgia prison. The convict resisted electric discharges for a long time: “The first lasted two minutes, but did not kill him, for the next two he continued to fight and resist. After that, the doctors examined him and declared that he was still alive.

Then he was given an additional discharge of the same duration as the first. But the witnesses of the execution saw that he was still breathing.” The newspaper clarifies: "In six minutes - the time allotted for cooling the body so that the doctors can examine it - the convict took another twenty-three breaths."

Complete technical defeat

Many experts today believe that electrocution has been a complete fiasco. Of course, many convicts die, so to speak, “normally”, but there are also many who depart to another world only at the cost of unbearable suffering.

In 1983 in Alabama, thirty-three-year-old John Louis Evans died after only three shocks of thirty seconds and 1900 volts each, which he received in fourteen minutes. Thirty witnesses saw "an arc of fire erupt from under his mask. Smoke came out from under the electrode on the right leg. The strap that fixed the leg caught fire and broke. After the second discharge, the convict's lawyers contacted Governor George Wallace to stop the procedure, which turned into unbearably cruel torture. The governor turned down the petition, and John Evans received a third, this time a lethal discharge.

In 1985, the execution of William Vandevere in Indiana required five shocks of 2,250 volts each. The execution lasted seventeen minutes. Even after the third discharge, the doctor declared that the convict's heart was still beating at a frequency of forty beats per minute.

Many doctors claim that convicts lose consciousness after the first discharge, and even if the heart continues to beat and the lungs work, during subsequent discharges, the condemned no longer feel anything.

This statement completely refutes the execution of Judo, which we have already written about, as well as the execution in 1946 of a young black man named Willie Francis. He was one of the youngest people in history to be electrocuted: he was barely seventeen when he was executed.

A witness to the execution says: “I saw the performer turn on the current. The convict's lips swelled, his body began to arch. I heard the executioner yelling at the executioner to turn up the pressure because Willie Francis wasn't dead. But the executioner replied that he had already given the maximum current. Willie Francis yelled, “Stop! Let me breathe!"

The execution was stopped. The survivor said: “I felt a burning sensation on my head and on my leg. Multi-colored specks flickered. After deliberation, the Supreme Court ruled that nothing prevented the execution of a miraculous survivor. Willie Francis was put back in his chair, and this time he died on the first shock.

In 1972, the US Supreme Court abolished the death penalty in Furman v. Georgia. The court took it extremely important decision, determining that the death penalty was applied "arbitrarily and unreasonably" and, in violation of the constitution, turned into a cruel and inhuman punishment.

As a result, more than a thousand suicide bombers changed the preventive measure to life imprisonment. Criminals such as Charles Manson, the killer of actress Sharon Tate, Sirhan-Sirhan, the killer of Bob Kennedy, chuckling, left the "corridor of death."

As a result of this decision, some states have begun to revise the legislation. In 1976, the Supreme Court, in Gregg v. Georgia, ruled that the death penalty was not unconstitutional, approving laws revised by some states.

Thirty-six states have changed their laws since the Furman ruling, and today they provide for the death penalty for aggravated murder.

For several decades now, the technology of electrocution has remained virtually unchanged. The principle of operation of the electric chair is the same everywhere, although there are certain differences between the states in terms of the duration of the discharge and the voltage, which varies from 1750 to 2500 volts depending on the device.

The execution itself and the preparation for it take place according to clearly established regulations, which are sometimes so detailed in by-laws that it turns into a real ritual.

The death ritual in the electric chair is similar to that of other execution methods used in the United States. When the countdown begins, the prisoner is taken out of the "corridor of death" and placed in a cell called the "special death cell" or "death chamber". Here the convict spends last days under continuous round-the-clock supervision. All personal belongings are taken from the suicide bomber. The death certificate is drawn up in advance with the note "Legitimate execution by electric current."

A few hours before the execution, the handcuffed prisoner is brought to the "preparation room". In this room, located next to the execution room, the condemned is subjected to a thorough examination. Examine all openings - nose, ears, mouth, anus - checking if anything is hidden there, in particular metal objects that can interfere with the killing procedure.

Examination of the body began to be carried out after the incident with a certain Albert Fish, who drove several dozen long metal needles into his body in order to disrupt the course of the execution. He was sure that with a discharge of 2000 volts, the needles would come out of the body, turning it into a porcupine. Nothing of the sort happened.

After the inspection, the guard cuts the sentenced man's hair with a buzz cut, then shaves off the square on the top of his head for a secure fit of the helmet electrodes.

Then the handcuffs are removed from the convict and sent to the shower, located in the corner of the room. He is given five or six minutes to bathe, after which he is put on a suit provided by the correctional facility. He can choose to stay barefoot or wear socks.

The execution of Richard (Bruno) Hauptmann in 1935. Photo "Keyston".

The death penalty in the electric chair of Willy Bragg, who killed his wife. The execution took place in Mississippi on a new chair improved by Jimmy Thompson. Engraving. Private count

States applying electric shock

In 1992, the electric chair was a legal method of execution in 14 states of America: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia.

Previously, portable electric chairs were used in Louisiana and Mississippi. If necessary, they were brought to prisons and connected to generators located outside the execution room.

The youngest electrocution victims were George Stinney, who was executed at the age of 16 in South Carolina in 1944 for murder, and Frenchman William Francis, who was executed at the age of 17 in Louisiana in 1946.

Usually, while dressing, the confessor comes, and the director of the prison promises the convict that he will die instantly and without pain.

While the convict is being prepared, the deputy director solemnly welcomes official witnesses appointed by the convict himself, as well as journalists chosen by lot. The "witness room" is opposite the chair, behind which is a small nook with the electrical equipment of the killing machine.

Having seated the witnesses, the deputy director gives them written instructions, which, in particular, recommend that they behave with dignity and, under no pretext, communicate with the convict in any way. Witnesses are informed that during the execution will be on duty " ambulance', in case any of them got sick.

The direct telephone lines between the death room and the offices of the Attorney General and the Governor are checked for the last time - there is always the possibility of a last-second pardon.

As soon as the prisoner is dressed, he is again handcuffed and takes the last steps to separate him from the electric chair. He enters, escorted by four guards, the director of the prison, and a chaplain. He sees a chair.

The "electric chair" is a large oak chair with three or four legs, often painted White color standing on a thick rubber carpet and bolted to the floor.

Every electric chair in the US is unique. In some states, they are made by firms or local artisans to specifications provided by the Department of Justice. In other states, they are created by the prisoners themselves. Like, for example, the electric chair of the famous Rayford prison in Florida. It was made by prisoners in 1924 from an oak tree cut down on the territory of the prison.

Warning lights are often used to indicate that "the chair is energized." The seat has a black rubber mat. The back of the chair is continued by two vertical posts twenty-five centimeters high, which serve to fix the head of the convict. Hands are tied to the armrests. In front between the legs there is a wooden plank that serves to fix the ankles.

In most cases, the convicted person is immobilized with seven straps: one for the lower back, one for the chest, one for the head, two for the wrists, two for the ankles.

The executioner, working anonymously, is in another room.

Location of the electrodes

Behind the chair on the wall is an electrical cabinet with two cables coming out of it. Attached to the same wall is a box containing "accessories": a helmet and a contact plate, "gaiters" and gloves of performers.

The helmet is made of thick leather, equipped with a chin strap and a special strip ten by twenty centimeters, with which the convict's eyes are closed. A “contact plate” is placed inside - a curved copper piece ten centimeters in diameter, with a rod protruding above the helmet in the center, to which the first electrode is attached.

S. T. Judy's press conference prior to his execution in Michigan City in 1981. Photo "Keyston".

The inside of the helmet is covered with a thin layer of natural sponge. It provides a tighter fit to the helmet and hides the smell of burnt flesh. Previously, the electrode was attached directly to the head of the convict, which led to serious burns and a terrible stench. However, even today, witnesses claim that the execution is accompanied by a terrible smell. The contact plate and sponge are often dipped in a solution of salted water to improve conductivity.

The director of the correctional facility invites the convict to make a statement, after which a helmet is put on his head.

"Gaiter" is also leather. It is usually twenty centimeters long and eight wide. The right trouser leg is cut to the knee and a "gaiter" is put on the shaved ankle with inner layer from metal, usually lead, foil. On one side, a copper plate with a threaded rod protruding outward is fixed, to which the second electrode is attached.

The passage of current through the contact plate of the helmet to the electrode on the ankle, through the lungs and heart, and leads to the death of the convict.

Were the Americans themselves the first to question the infallibility of electrocution? Probably because almost all the states where it is practiced have passed laws requiring an autopsy to be performed immediately after an execution.

The state of New York gave the reason without false modesty: "To eliminate any possibility of returning the object to life." On August 23, 1991, in Greensville, Virginia, Derrick Peterson received a discharge of 1725 volts for 10 seconds, then 240 volts for 90 seconds. When the body was removed from the chair, the doctor ascertained the presence of a pulse. The operation had to be repeated.

Grim Collection

In May 1972, a unique collection of Michael Foreman, an English shipowner, who collected several hundred instruments of torture and killing from the 7th century to the present day, was sold at the Christie auction. The result of the auction - more than a million dollars.

From the book Catherine II: Diamond Cinderella author Bushkov Alexander

who sets up a chair and, sitting on it, knits a stocking, listening to the conversations of the young ladies. Fekla. Will you get rid of us, Nanny Vasilisa? Lukerya. Nanny Vasilisa, may you fall through the ground! Nanny Vasilisa. God is with us, mothers! I'm doing the Lord's will. Yes, and you, my beauties

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 3 [Physics, chemistry and technology. History and archeology. Miscellaneous] author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

From the book How people discovered their land author Tomilin Anatoly Nikolaevich

Hans Oersted's Electrical Conflict That day at the University of Copenhagen, Professor Hans Christian Oersted was supposed to give a lecture on the connection between electricity and heat. The forty-three-year-old scientist was quite a well-known figure in Denmark.

From the book The Red Book of Things author Burovik Kim Alexandrovich

author

Chapter Five Westinghouse and his firm. Who would turn down $12 million? Three-phase current. Laufen-Frankfurt transfer. "Chicago. 1893rd. Columbian Exhibition. Niagara gives an electric current In July 1888, an unusual

From the book of Nikola Tesla. First domestic biography author Rzhonsnitsky Boris Nikolaevich

Chapter Six Currents of high frequency. Resonance transformer. Is electric current safe? Tesla Lecture on High Frequency Currents According to Tesla, the year he spent in Pittsburgh was lost for research work in the field of multiphase currents. It is possible that this

From the book In the world of frozen sounds author Okhotnikov Vadim Dmitrievich

9. The electric eye At the end of the last century, a Russian scientist, professor of physics at Moscow University A. G. Stoletov, studied a remarkable phenomenon. He observed that in some substances, when illuminated with light, an electric current arises! One of these

From the book Popular History - From Electricity to Television the author Kuchin Vladimir

Let's start with the fact that the 30-year-old native of Philadelphia William Kemmler he was a bit of a bastard in his own right. True, in our time he would certainly complain about family circumstances. After all, both of his parents are immigrants from Germany, drunken alcoholics. William left school at the age of 10, he worked in a butcher's shop: child labor was then the norm. After burying his father and mother, he peddled, saved up money, bought a horse and a wagon. Constantly got involved in fights and drank. When he didn’t drink and didn’t fight in a bar, he beat his, as they say now, “common-law wife” Matilda Ziegler. On March 29, 1889, he and Matilda quarreled over the money that William was enthusiastically drinking. Then Kemmler took a hatchet, designed for chopping logs into wood chips for the hearth, and hit Ziegler with all his might on the head. The woman died instantly. Seeing William leaving his house in blood, one of the neighbors ran to the police: law enforcement officials arrested the killer at the crime scene. The trial took place in May. The evidence was there, and the criminal did not deny it: on August 13, 1889, Kemmler was sentenced to death. Presumably, he was supposed to be hanged, but the executioner who carried out the execution first left for a “part-time job” in another state, and then fell ill. Therefore, they decided to execute the murderer with a fashionable invention: in an electric chair.

"Good" replacement of the gallows

You will be surprised, but this method of killing criminals was initially positioned as ... "extremely humane." Previously, murderers in the United States were sentenced to the gallows, there were not enough skilled executioners: often a person suffered before death on a rope for 10-15 minutes. It looked, delicately speaking, not very beautiful. Therefore, in American society, there have long been sluggish discussions about how exactly the execution should be softer.

In 1881 dentist Albert Southwick witnessed a shocking incident: a drunk port loader accidentally touched the contacts of an electric generator. Of course, he was killed on the spot. Believing that such a death was instantaneous and painless, Southwick turned to his friend, Senator David McMillan and proposed to replace the hanging with an electric current, using a "special device". This information got into the newspapers, and journalists, by analogy with the dental chair, dubbed the design the "electric chair". The Senate created a commission to study the issue, and inventor Thomas Edison, warmly supported the new kind"of the highest measure", conducted ruthless experiments on cats and dogs, proving: look, they are killed by electric current in one second.

As a result, Southwick's proposal was approved: on January 1, 1889, the "Electric Execution Law" came into force in the state of New York. True, they did not yet know exactly how they should be executed: in the heat of the moment they were going to put the criminal up to his neck in a tank of water and lower the wires there. But this option was recognized as unaesthetic. The first model of the electric chair was made by a 44-year-old Edwin Davis, a modest employee of the prison in the city of Auburn: he was destined to work as the first "electric executioner", who sent 240 people to the next world. Meanwhile, the famous engineer George Westinghouse, who developed a system for supplying consumers with electricity on alternating current. He hired the best lawyers he could find for William Kemmler: appeals fell one after another. Westinghouse refused to supply the prisons with electricity generators, but the Auburn prison staff proved that the sleight-of-hand was clever by purchasing these devices through nominees. Lawyers foaming at the mouth argued that the electric chair is a "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution. They clearly could get a commutation of the sentence, but the convicted William Kemmler behaved stupidly: he boasted that he had hacked to death his mistress, and gladly told the details. Therefore, his fate was sealed.

"The dead man is still breathing!"

On August 6, 1890, the electric chair was installed in Auburn Prison. William Kemmler was roused at 5:00 a.m. He quickly dressed in a smart suit and tie. After a hearty breakfast and prayer in the presence of a priest, the barber shaved William's crown. At 6:38 a.m., Kemmler entered the room where 17 witnesses were already seated and said: “Gentlemen, I wish you all good luck. I believe I'm heading to a great place, and I'm ready to be transported there." William sat down on a chair, but he was ordered to get up: it was necessary to cut a hole in the suit in order to pass an electric wire. Then the condemned man was tied to the armrests and a metal bowl was lowered to the top of his head. “Please do it right,” the killer said. - I'm not in a hurry". He was calm and did not resist. Perhaps he did not believe: is it really so easy to kill with this unknown device? The overseer muttered a farewell, and Davis, the electro-executioner, turned on the current. The idyll ended immediately.

Kemmler was struck by a discharge of 1,000 volts: electricity was released for 17 seconds. Then the "breaker" was removed to its previous position, and those present at the execution neurologist Eduard Spitska publicly declared: the criminal is dead. “Yes, where is it! witnesses shouted from the side. Look, he's still breathing! The neurologist yelled at Davis, "Turn the current back on, quick!" The second attempt (the norm was doubled: 2,000 volts) led to a situation comparable to a horror movie: the blood vessels on the hands of the criminal burst, flooding the floor around with blood, his head began to smoke, the room was filled with the smell of burning flesh (in any case, witnesses reported that incidents). Kemmler groaned loudly. Several people, holding back their nausea, tried to leave the room, but the door was locked. William Kemmler died only 8 minutes after the start of the execution. A reporter for the New York Times, who was present at the "electric execution", later wrote in an article: "Excuse me, and you call this humanity ?! Such things are much worse than hanging.” George Westinghouse, commenting on the details of Kemmler's murder, said: "Honestly, it would be better if he was hacked to death with an axe." Everyone was sure that this would not happen again.

Kemmler's execution, eyewitness sketch. Photo: Public Domain

Everything in the style of Chernomyrdin

However, in 1896 the electric chair was allowed in Ohio, in 1898 in Massachusetts, in 1906 in New Jersey, and in 1910 in North Carolina. Electrocution has become the most popular form of execution in the United States. Over the next hundred years, 4,300 people were deprived of their lives in this way, including serial killers, gangsters, and spouses. Rosenberg accused of spying for the USSR. Now the electric chair as a "higher measure" remains in 8 states, but only if the person sentenced to death himself chooses this option of transition to another world. The last person to be executed by electricity remains Robert Gleason who sat down on a chair on January 16, 2013 in Virginia. It just so happened: the invention, proposed as “humane and painless”, remained brutal and frightening in people’s memory for many decades. They intimidated criminals. You can remember the words of the unforgettable Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin: "We wanted the best, but it turned out as always."

Types and variations of the death penalty. Electric chair. December 11th, 2014

Hello dear!
Let's continue our conversation about the death penalty. You can see the previous part here:
Today we will talk about such a highly specialized type of fatal executions as an electric chair. Currently available only in US states: Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Moreover, only in the latter this execution is practiced widely and practically without reservations. In the rest, either only as a last resort, or in the absence of an alternative (for example, the inability to quickly get the components of a deadly serum). Once this type of execution was also used in the Philippines, but since 1973 this practice has been discontinued.
Ideally, this type of punishment was planned as the most humane execution, but in practice, sometimes it does not always work out that way. From a medical point of view, death should occur as a result of cardiac arrest and respiratory paralysis after exposure to a condemned electric current. great strength. That is, a current is supplied and the condemned does not have time to feel anything and dies calmly. But that's in theory...

That same thing...

An electric chair is a high-back chair with wooden armrests, usually on which special straps hang for rigid fixation. The arms are fastened on the armrests, the legs are in special clamps on the legs of the chair. After the offender is fixed on his voice, they put on a special hoop. Electrical contacts are connected to the hoop. Another pin is attached at the ankle usually to the right leg. Before execution, the convict shaves the hair on the top of his head and, if there is vegetation on his legs, also his ankle. A sponge impregnated with saline is inserted under the hoop, this is done in order to ensure minimal electrical contact resistance.
The current is supplied with an alternating voltage of 2700 V, the current strength is limited to 5 amperes, so that the body does not ignite. Actually, it's different...

Remember the movie The Green Mile?

The chair is activated by 2 switches - one of which is connected, the other is not - so that the executioners themselves do not know who exactly brought the "old smokehouse" (slang expression) into action. Something similar we have seen before in executions.

Dr. Albert Southwick

Formally speaking, the inventor of the electric chair is Buffalo dentist Albert Southwick, but in fact, Thomas Edison played a huge role in the promotion of this murder weapon and its advertising, which is why the electric chair is often called "edisonka" or "edisonina" (an analogy to the guillotine apparently ). The famous inventor and entrepreneur entered the fight against the Westinghouse empire, trying to prove the greater danger of alternating current (Westingau development) over its direct current. And so he helped create a chair with alternators.
The first person to be executed in this way is 30-year-old William Kemler, accused of killing his mistresses with an axe. The execution took place on August 6, 1890 in the prison of Auburn, New York. George Westinghouse, being a clear opponent of such an inhumane punishment, tried to “blow him off”, but it didn’t work out ....

The famous George Westinghouse

There is a lot of gossip about the humanity of this type of punishment. It may well be that the new equipment worked fine, but the old one .... A lot of unpleasant cases when a person was literally fried ...
The machine turns on once. Then a couple of minutes later the second, and the doctor records the death. This is how it should ideally be. In practice, however ... For the execution of John Louis Evans in April 1983 in the state of Alabama, it was necessary to apply a current of 1900 volts three times within 14 minutes before the death of the convict was ascertained. William Vandiver on October 16, 1985 in Indiana was executed only after the fifth discharge of current and died within 17 minutes
On July 4, 1989, also due to problems with an improperly connected electric chair, Horace Dunkens agonized for 19 minutes.

Willie Francis

The discharge followed the discharge, but every time the doctors stated that the convict was still alive. Well, the most amazing case, perhaps, happened with 18 (!) Years old murderer Willie Francis. They tried to execute him, but at first nothing happened, and then the tension disappeared. Therefore, he was again taken to the cell and executed a second time only after 6 days.

Apparently, accidentally injured Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

It only remains to add that the killer of President McKinley, Leon Czolgosz, was executed using the electric chair (we touched on this topic a little here.

Kruglova I.

From the second half of the 19th century in the United States, hanging began to be considered an inhumane method of the death penalty (if one can speak of execution as humane at all). The state authorities wanted to replace hanging with some other method that would be less painful and not cause public outrage. Here is an example of two executions that prompted the state authorities to reconsider the old customary method of punishment.

The two criminals were tried for different crimes and hanged on June 30, 1852. Black Jonas Williams was convicted of rape and murder, white woman Ann Hoag for the murder of her husband. Was introduced new technology hanging, which involved the use of a counterweight that abruptly lifts the convict and breaks his neck. The black Williams died quickly, and the white woman, who maintained her innocence until her death, suffered for several minutes. The public considered this unfair. Especially considering the historical situation of that time.

Another example of execution: Roxalana Druce was hanged on the same new "humane" gallows on February 28, 1887. She suffered for 15 minutes. After that, the authorities were determined to make the execution more humane.

What were the difficulties of the main method of execution? The main problem was determining the fall distance needed for a quick death. The length of the rope had to be calculated according to the weight and height of the convict. If the rope is too short, then it will not be able to quickly break the neck. On a rope that is too long, the convict can suffer up to 45 minutes. Other difficulties were associated with tying a knot: this had to be done in a special way at the left ear. That is, all technical conditions must be met for a neck fracture to occur. And this is difficult to achieve for various reasons, up to the excitement of the executioner. The onset of a fracture also depends on the muscles of the convict. If he has strong neck muscles, then the process will be slow, especially since usually a person strains his neck muscles, trying to fight for life. The last moments of the struggle for life are due to the very instinct of preservation. Even knowing that it is necessary to relax the neck in order to die quickly, the convict will unconsciously strain it.

After much experimentation and research, by January 1890, the electric chair was invented.

On August 6, 1890, the first execution took place in the electric chair. The first to be executed was William Kemmler (pictured left). Kemmler was a merchant in Buffalo with an addiction to alcohol. He was very jealous, constantly suspected his beloved of treason and was afraid that she would run away from him with another. One night, after a night of drinking, it seemed to Kemmler that his girlfriend was planning to make an escape and was packing her things, although she had only done the cleaning. But Kemmler was angry and exhausted by his doubts and suspicions. He killed his girlfriend with an ax and immediately went to the neighbors to report his crime. He said: “I killed her. I had to do it. I did it on purpose. I'll take the rope for it." But after a short trial, Kemmler was sentenced to death using a new method of killing - the electric chair.

The convict was asked if Kemmler wanted to say anything before he died. He said the following: “Well gentlemen, I wish you good luck in this world. I think I'm going to a good place, and the papers were writing too much that didn't exist." The prison guard's hands shook as he tied the convict to a chair. Kemmler grumbled, “God, Warden, calm down. Do not rush". An electrode with a washcloth was attached to the convict's head. Another electrode was passed to the spine to open an unobstructed path for the current to flow through the body. The electrodes were wetted with saline. Sufficient voltage to quickly kill a person, as was established during the experiments, was 2000 volts. The switch to supply current to the chair was turned by Edwin Davies. He made the chair himself and carried out several tests (later he was called the "state electrician"). The current passed through the body of the convict for 17 seconds. Kemmler was shaking despite no belts; his face was filled with blood. When the current was turned off, Alfred Southwick (the Buffalo dentist who pioneered the idea of electrocution) exclaimed, “This is the culmination of decades of work and research! From this day on, we live in a civilized world!” To his dismay, Kemmler was not dead. The order was immediately given to turn the system back on, but time had already been lost. The generator needed to be energized again. All this time, Kemmler groaned and gasped. The witnesses were horrified. The current went through the convict again. This time the current was applied for a full minute. Smoke rose from Kemmler's head, the room smelled of burnt flesh, and cracklings were heard. When the power was turned off, Kemler was dead.

The first execution in the electric chair showed the imperfection of this method, which was considered the most humane at that time. Was the electric chair a step towards civilization, as it was called after the invention?

The next executions took place in the spring of 1891. Four were executed for different crimes. The method of execution has been adjusted. The generator has become more powerful, the wires are thicker. The second electrode was connected not to the spine, but to the arm. These executions went more smoothly and the new method was accepted by public opinion. However, the search for a more humane method continued. Moreover, a broad abolitionist movement unfolded in the 20th century, and debates about the humanity of the death penalty continue in the United States to this day.

Sources:

Rob Gallagher. Northeast regional studies of the executions between 1607 and 1968 http://users.bestweb.net/~rg/execution/regional_studies_northeast.htm
History of Execution Methods in the U.S. Research from the Death Penalty Information Center. http://www.courttv.com/archive/national/death_penalty/history_dpenalty.html
MacLeod M. Condemned. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/not_guilty/chair/5.html
MacLeod M. Horrifying Mistakes. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/not_guilty/chair/6.html

Execution in the electric chair until recently was considered one of the most humane ways to kill criminals. However, over the years of application, it turned out that this type of execution is by no means completely painless, but, on the contrary, can cause terrible torment to the convict. What can happen to a person who gets into the electric chair?

Criminals were executed in the electric chair in late XIX century, when supporters of the "progressive" society decided that earlier existing species executions such as burning at the stake, hanging and beheading are inhumane. From their point of view, the criminal should not suffer additionally in the process of execution: after all, he is already being deprived of the most precious thing - his life.

It is believed that the first model of the electric chair was invented in 1888 by Harold Brown, who worked for the Thomas Edison Company. According to others, the inventor of the electric chair was the dentist Albert Southwick.

The essence of the execution is this. The convict is shaved head and back of the leg. Then the torso and arms are firmly tied with straps to a chair made of dielectric, with a high back and armrests. Legs are fixed with special clamps. At first, the criminals were blindfolded, then they began to put a hood on their heads, and more recently, a special mask. One electrode is attached to the head, on which the helmet is put on, the other to the leg. The executioner turns on the switch button, which passes through the body an alternating current with a power of up to 5 amperes and a voltage of 1700 to 2400 volts. An execution usually takes about two minutes. Two discharges are given, each is switched on for one minute, the interval between them is 10 seconds. Death, which should occur from cardiac arrest, is mandatory recorded by the doctor.

For the first time this method of execution was applied on August 6, 1890 in the Auburn prison of the US state of New York to William Kemmler, convicted of the murder of his mistress Tilly Zeigler.

Up to now, more than 4,000 people have been executed in this way in the United States. Also, a similar type of execution was used in the Philippines. The communist spouses Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who worked for Soviet intelligence, also ended their lives in the electric chair.

"False" procedure

It was assumed that when an electric current was passed through the body, a person would die immediately. But this did not always happen. Often, eyewitnesses had to observe how people put in an electric chair convulsed, bit their tongues, foam and blood came out of their mouths, their eyes popped out of their sockets, involuntary emptying of the intestines and bladder occurred. Some uttered piercing cries during the execution ... Almost always, after the discharge was applied, a light smoke began to go from the skin and hair of the convict. There have also been cases when a person sitting in an electric chair caught fire and exploded in the head. Quite often, the burnt skin "glued" to the belts and the seat. The bodies of the executed turned out, as a rule, so hot that it was impossible to touch them, and then the “aroma” of burnt human flesh hovered in the room for a long time.

One of the protocols describes an episode when the convict was exposed to a discharge of 2450 volts for 15 seconds, but a quarter of an hour after the procedure, he was still alive. As a result, the execution had to be repeated three more times, until the offender finally died. The last time, his eyeballs even melted.

In 1985, William Vandiver was electrocuted five times in Indiana. It took 17 minutes to kill him.

According to experts, when exposed to such a high voltage human body including the brain and others internal organs Literally roasted alive. Even if death occurs quickly enough, at least a person feels the strongest muscle spasm throughout the body, as well as acute pain at the points of contact with the skin of the electrodes. This is usually followed by loss of consciousness. Here is the memoir of one of the survivors: “There was a taste of cold peanut butter in my mouth. I felt my head and left leg burning, so I tried with all my might to break free of the bonds.” 17-year-old Willie Francis, who sat in the electric chair in 1947, shouted: “Turn it off! Let me breathe!"

Repeatedly, the execution became painful as a result of various failures and malfunctions. So, on May 4, 1990, when the criminal Jesse D. Tafero was executed, a synthetic gasket under the helmet ignited, and the convict received third-fourth degree burns. A similar thing happened on March 25, 1997 with Pedro Medina. In both cases, the current had to be turned on several times. In total, the execution procedure took 6-7 minutes, so it could not be called quick and painless.

The story of the murderer of the whole family, Allen Lee Davis, caused a great resonance. In the end, he suffocated.

Chair or injection?

Over time, it became clear that the "humane" execution is in fact often a painful torture, and its use was limited. True, some people believe that the point here is not at all in humanity, but in the high cost of the procedure.

Currently, electric chair execution is used only in six US states - Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Moreover, the convict is offered a choice - an electric chair or a lethal injection. The last time the above-mentioned measure was applied on January 16, 2013 in Virginia to Robert Gleason, who deliberately killed two of his cellmates in order to have his life sentence commuted to a death sentence.

In addition, there is a law in the USA: if after the third category the sentenced person survives, then he receives a pardon: they say, it means that this is the will of God ...