Who invented the electric chair was a dentist or joiner. Humane execution in the electric chair

Assassin of President McKinley. During the 20th century, it was used in 26 states, but in recent decades it has been actively supplanted by other forms of execution (for example, lethal injection) and is now used quite rarely. From 1952 to 1976, it was also used in the Philippines.

It can currently be used in six states - in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia at the choice of the convict along with lethal injection, and in Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida the right to choose to use electric chair have only those who committed a crime earlier than a certain date (in Kentucky - April 1, 1998, in Tennessee - January 1, 1999). In Tennessee and Virginia, the electric chair may also be used if components for lethal injection are not found. In Florida, the electric chair is used at the request of the convicted person, within 30 days of the approval of the death sentence by the Florida Supreme Court, the default is lethal injection. The last electrocution in the state of Florida was in 1999. In Nebraska, the electric chair was used as the only method of execution, but on February 8, 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that it was a "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the constitution. In Arkansas and Oklahoma, it can only be used in strictly specified cases, for example, if all other methods of execution are found unconstitutional at the time of the execution of the death sentence.

In the state of Alabama, since 2018, the procedure for using execution methods has been following the regulation:

1. Lethal injection is routinely used
2. If the injection is "impossible" or declared unconstitutional, execution with pure nitrogen is applied ( the new kind execution should probably be applied using a special mask)
3. If injection and "nitrogen inhalation" are found unconstitutional, or if both methods of execution cannot be used, the electric chair is used.
4. If all three methods of execution are declared unconstitutional or if they cannot be executed, execution is used.

During 2001, 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2014-2018, this method of execution was never used, in all other years of the 21st century - once. In Kentucky and Nebraska, the electric chair was last used in 1997, in Georgia in 1998 (further use was banned by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2001), in Florida in 1999, in Alabama in 2002, in Tennessee - in 2007, in South Carolina - in 2008. AT last years the electric chair is only used in Virginia (between 2009 and 2013, three death row inmates were executed in the electric chair).

The last known case of the use of the electric chair was recorded on January 16, 2013, when Robert Gleason, a prisoner who killed two cellmates in order to receive a death sentence, was executed in Virginia.

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Device and principle of operation

The electric chair is a chair made of dielectric material with armrests and high back, equipped with belts for rigid fixation of the sentenced. Hands are attached to the armrests, legs - in special clamps on the legs of the chair. The chair also comes with a helmet. Electrical contacts are connected to the ankle attachment points and to the helmet. Part technical support step-up transformer included. During the execution, an alternating current with a voltage of about 2700 is supplied to the contacts, the current limiting system maintains a current through the body of the convict of the order of 5. The current and voltage are limited so that the convict does not catch fire during the execution.

The chair's power management system has a power-on protection that must be deactivated immediately before execution. responsible person with a special key. According to one version, the chair may have one or more control switches, by pressing which the current is turned on. In this case, they are turned on simultaneously by different executioners, and in reality the current turns on only one of them. This order is used so that no one, including the performers themselves, could know who actually carried out the execution (by analogy with the well-known type of execution, when parts of the shooters are given weapons loaded with blank cartridges).

The order of execution

The sentenced person is seated in an electric chair, the hands are attached to the armrests, and the legs are attached to the foot contact mounts. Before putting the helmet on, a hood is put on the suicide bomber's head, or his eyes are glued. The helmet is put on the head of the convict, on which the hair on the top of the head is shaved before execution. A sponge impregnated with saline is inserted into the helmet to ensure minimal electrical resistance helmeted contact with the head and, thus, hasten death and alleviate the physical suffering of the convict. The torso is fixed with additional straps.

After turning off the protection system, the executioner turns on the current. The voltage is turned on twice, for one minute, with a break of 10 seconds (in different designs the number of inclusions and time intervals may vary). After turning off the power, the doctor must make sure that the convict is dead. In some US states and states, if death does not occur, the operation may continue. William Vandiver was killed only after the fifth electric shock.

Story

The creation of the electric chair is associated with the name of Thomas Edison. In the 1880s in the United States, Edison, who organized the first DC power supply system, actively competed with the new AC-based power supply systems, which was called the war of currents. Edison convinced consumers of the shortcomings of the competitor's system, promoted the danger of such systems, including public experiments on killing animals with alternating current.

These events coincided with the discussion that began in the country about choosing a more humane method of the death penalty (until the 80s of the 19th century, hanging was mainly used in the USA. Every now and then, horrifying scenes of too long and painful execution leaked into the press: even the most experienced the executioner sometimes could not foresee the nuances, and death did not come from a fracture of the vertebrae, as was supposed, but from strangulation, which is more painful.

The increasing use of electricity was naturally accompanied by occasional accidents resulting in deaths. In 1881, in Buffalo, New York, dentist Albert Southwick accidentally witnessed the death of an elderly drunk who touched the contacts. electric generator. Struck by how quickly and apparently painlessly death came, Southwick turned to a friend, Senator David McMillan, with a proposal to replace the rope with wires. He asked the New York State Legislature to consider the prospect of using electricity on death row to stop hanging. In 1886, a commission was set up to investigate the question "of the most humane and commendable mode of carrying out the death penalty." At this stage, the famous Thomas Edison joined the history of the electric chair, so tenaciously that this chair, by analogy with the guillotine, could be called "Edisonina" (although the prison population of America calls him "yellow mother" or " old smokehouse"). Inventor arranged in West Orange (English)Russian(New Jersey) revealing experience: several cats and dogs were lured to a metal plate energized with 1000 V alternating current. In 1888, the New York State Legislature passed a law establishing electrocution as the state's method of carrying out death sentences.

In the latter half of 1888, inventor Harold Brown and Columbia University employee Fred Peterson conducted research in the Edison Laboratories on the use of electricity for the death penalty. Within a few months, more than two dozen dogs were electrocuted, according to the results of the experiments, on December 12, 1888, the group presented a report to the New York State Forensic Society recommending an electric chair as an execution tool (other options were also considered, including a tank with water and a table with a rubber coating). On January 1, 1889, the Electric Execution Act went into effect in New York State.

The opponent of the electric chair was George Westinghouse, who had previously developed a system for supplying consumers with alternating current electricity, Edison's main competitor. After the introduction of the electric chair law, Westinghouse refused to supply alternating current generators to prisons, as a result of which Edison and Brown had to buy generators in a roundabout way.

The first people sentenced to death in the electric chair were William Kemmler and Joseph Chapleau (the first for the murder of his mistress, the second for the murder of a neighbor). Chapleau was pardoned and received a life sentence. Westinghouse also tried to save Kemmler, for which he hired lawyers who demanded an appeal against the verdict on the basis that execution in the electric chair falls under the definition of "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution, but the appeals were rejected.

In 1890, Edwin Davies, who worked as an electrician in Auburn Jail, developed the first operating model electric chair. On August 6, 1890, William Kemmler was the first person in the world to be executed in the electric chair at Auburn Prison. Although one of the reporters stated: “He didn’t hurt at all!”, In reality, the execution did not go quite smoothly: after the first turn on of the current, Kemmler was still alive, the current had to be turned on again. George Westinghouse commented on the execution with the words: "They would have done better with an ax" (Kemmler killed his mistress with an ax).

In 1896, the electric chair was introduced in Ohio, in 1898 in Massachusetts, in 1906 in New Jersey, in 1908 in Virginia, in 1910 in North Carolina. Over the next ten years, it was legalized in more than ten states and became the most popular execution tool in America. In just over a hundred years of use, more than 4,300 people have been executed in the electric chair.

Conceived as a means of discrediting AC power systems, the electric chair just failed to perform this function. Despite its appearance, the use of alternating current expanded. Edison was later forced to admit that he had underestimated the benefits of alternating current. In 1912, Westinghouse was awarded the Edison Medal for his achievements in the development of this technology.

Outside USA

"Slave owner" Alexander Komin from Vyatskiye Polyany used a homemade electric chair to kill one of his prisoners.

Famous people who were executed in the electric chair

• William Kemmler (, New York) - the first man in the world to be executed in the electric chair.
• Martha Place (, New York) - the first woman to be executed in the electric chair.
• Leon Czolgosz (, New York) - assassin of President McKinley.
• Chester Gillett (, New York) is a murderer who became the prototype of a fictional character in Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy.
• Charles Becker (English)Russian(, New York) - a New York police officer, the first police officer in the United States to be sentenced to death for murder.
• Sacco and Vanzetti (, Massachusetts) - executed on trumped-up charges, became a textbook example of persecution for political reasons.
• Giuseppe Zangara (, Florida) - attempted on the life of President-elect Franklin Roosevelt and killed the mayor of Chicago.
• Albert Fish (, New York) is a serial killer known as "Moon Maniac", "Grey Ghost", "Brooklyn Vampire", "Boogie Man", "Wisteria Werewolf".
• Bruno Richard Hauptmann (English)Russian(, New Jersey) - German criminal convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr.
• Anna Maria Khan ( Ohio State
• Herman and Paul Petrillo (, Pennsylvania) - the leaders of a gang of assassins Philadelphia poison ring.
• Herbert Haupt, Edward John Kerling, Richard Quirin, Heinrich Harm Heink, Hermann Otto Neubauer, Werner Thiel (Washington) - German agents during World War II, participants in Operation Pastorius (English)Russian.
• Louis Lepke (, New York) - a famous American gangster of the 1930s, the only mafia leader in the United States sentenced to death.
• Lena Baker () is an African-American woman who was executed for the murder of her employer.
• Willie Francis (, Louisiana) is a black juvenile delinquent who was sentenced to death and was twice executed in the electric chair (see Francis v. Resweber).
• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (, New York) - American communists accused of spying for the Soviet Union.
• Rhonda Bell Martin ( , Alabama) is an American serial killer.
• Charles Starkweather (Eng. Charles Starkweather) (, Nebraska) is an American serial killer, known as the "drunken killer."
• James French (English)Russian(, Oklahoma) - the last prisoner executed before the adoption of a moratorium on the death penalty in the United States in

Who is the chair? Carpenter, electrician, scientist - such options come to mind. You will probably be surprised to learn that this person's profession was different. In this article we will answer the question: who invented the electric chair? It requires detailed consideration, since the history associated with it is very curious. In the late 19th century, he invented the incandescent lamp. Of course, this person is not the one who invented the electric chair. However, this was the first step towards many discoveries related to electricity. This invention, in particular, allowed us to use it to illuminate cities.

An idea that came to Albert Southwick

Many are interested in the question: who was the creator of the new method of execution? Albert Southwick is believed to be the one who invented the electric chair. His profession is a dentist. This man was from Buffalo, New York. Whoever invented the electric chair (whose profession, as you can see, is somewhat unexpected) believed that it could be used as an anesthetic in medical practice. One day, Albert saw how one of the inhabitants of Buffalo touched him. This man died, Southwick thought then, painlessly and almost instantly. This incident led him to the idea that the execution with the use of electricity could replace, as a faster and more humane punishment, the hanging used at that time. Southwick first suggested using electricity to dispose of unwanted animals instead of drowning them. Colonel Rockwell, head of the Society for the Protection of Animals from Cruelty, liked the idea.

Commission conclusion

Southwick in 1882 conducted a series of experiments on animals and published his results in scientific newspapers. It is Albert who is often credited with the invention of the electric chair. However, many people took part in its development. In particular, Southwick showed the results of his experiments to David Macmillan, a senator and his friend. He stated that the execution using electricity is painless, which is its main advantage. McMillian advocated the retention of the death penalty. This idea attracted him as an argument against its abolition. McMillian relayed what he heard to D. B. Hill, Governor of New York. In 1886, a special commission was set up, which included Southwick (the profession of the man who invented the electric chair is a dentist, as already mentioned), Eluridge Gerry (politician) and Matthew Hale (judge). Her conclusion, which was set out in a 95-page report, was that best method execution of the death sentence - execution with the use of electricity. The state was recommended in this report to replace hanging as a new form of execution.

death penalty law

In 1888, on June 5, the governor signed the corresponding law, which was supposed to come into force from 1889. It remained to decide which type to use or a constant. How are they different? Let's figure it out.

AC and DC

Scientists from various countries long before the invention of Thomas Edison. However, Edison (pictured below) for the first time put into practice the theory developed before him. In 1879 the first power plant was built. The Edison system worked on DC. However, it only flows in one direction, so it was impossible to supply current to long distance. It was necessary to build power plants to provide the city medium size electricity.

The way out was found by Nikola Tesla, a Croatian scientist. He owns the idea of ​​using alternating current, which can change its direction several times per second, while creating a magnetic field and without losing electrical voltage. You can step up or down the AC voltage using transformers. Such a current can be transmitted over long distances with small losses, after which it can be supplied to consumers through a step-down transformer.

Getting Started with AC

This system attracted investors, one of whom was George Westinghouse (pictured below).

He wanted to make a profitable use of it however Edison's technology was more popular at the time. It was for Edison that Tesla worked, but he did not pay attention to his developments, and Tesla quit. The scientist soon patented his ideas. Westinghouse bought 40 patents from Tesla in 1888, and more than a hundred cities used the alternating current system within a few years.

"Clash of the Titans"

In 1887, Edison began to discredit this system by requiring the collection of information from his workers on deaths caused by alternating current. So he hoped to prove that his method was safer for the population.

"Clash of the Titans" began when the question arose of what type of current should be used for the death penalty. Nikola Tesla (pictured below) at the same time avoided any statements about Thomas and preferred to remain silent. But Thomas smashed Tesla with his characteristic categoricalness and enthusiasm. The "war of the currents" continued until 2007! In New York, it was only in the 21st century that the last DC wires were symbolically cut. The entire network of America and the whole world was finally transferred to alternating current.

Pamphlet and speech by Edison

Since Edison did not want his invention to be associated in any way with death, he wanted alternating current to be used in an apparatus designed for the death penalty. The scientist in 1887 published the pamphlet "Warning". In it, he compared direct current with alternating current and pointed out the safety of the latter.

The speech before the commission of Thomas Edison made a strong impression. The inventor convinced all those present that when using alternating current, death from electricity is quick and painless. The commission to resolve this issue was faced with an alternative to the use of lethal injection, which is considered more humane than execution in the electric chair. It was in the 20th century that almost all states where the death penalty existed began to use it. Perhaps many would not have had to suffer in the electric chair if there were no competition between companies, as well as Thomas Edison's convincing speech before the commission. The issue was also that execution by lethal injection is carried out by doctors, which, for obvious reasons, is impossible.

First execution

In 1889, on January 1, the first execution took place using such an invention as an electric chair (its photo is presented below). The unit used for it was called the Westinghouse chair, or the Westinghouse chair, a few decades later. In the spring of 1891, the following executions took place. 4 people were executed for different crimes. The method of execution has been adjusted. Became more powerful generator and thicker wires. The 2nd electrode was connected to the arm and not to the spine. These executions passed more smoothly, and public opinion adopted new method.

Execution of William Kemmler

William Kemmler, who killed his civil wife with an ax, was the first "tester" of this innovation. He was executed in the city of Obernai in 1890, on August 6th. He failed to force known causes describe your feelings. Whoever invented the electric chair could not have foreseen what happened. The witnesses who were present at the time of the enactment of the sentence noted that the offender was still alive 15-20 seconds after the 1st category. I had to turn on the current for a longer time and with a higher voltage. The "experiment" was still painfully and for a long time brought to an end. This execution caused a lot of protests of the world and American public.

Electric chair murder

Let us describe the technology of murder using the electric chair. The offender sits on it and is tied with leather straps to a chair, securing the chest, hips, ankles and wrists. 2 copper electrodes are fixed on the body: one on the leg (for better conduction of electricity, the skin under it is shaved), and the other on the shaved crown. The electrodes are usually lubricated with a special gel in order to reduce skin burning and improve current conduction. An opaque mask is put on the face.

The executioner presses the switch button on the control panel, thereby giving the 1st charge, the voltage of which is from 1700 to 2400 volts, and the duration is approximately 30-60 seconds. The timer sets the time in advance and automatically turns off the current. The doctor, after two charges, examines the body of the criminal, because he may still not be killed. Death occurs as a result of respiratory paralysis and cardiac arrest.

improvement

However, modern executors have concluded that instantaneous cardiac arrest (i.e. clinical death) does not cause current to pass through the brain. It only prolongs the agony. Criminals are now slashed, and electrodes are inserted into the right thigh and left shoulder in order for the charge to pass through the heart and aorta.

Electric Chair - Cruel Punishment

Does it matter who invented the electric chair: a carpenter or an electrician? More importantly, this method of punishment is inhuman. Although all methods of execution are cruel to some extent, it is the electric chair that often causes tragic malfunctions that cause additional suffering for the condemned, especially in cases where the equipment used is in need of repair or is old. This led to this species the death penalty was recognized under the influence of Leo Jones, a well-known American human rights activist, as inapplicable, cruel punishment which is against the US Constitution.

Now you know who invented the electric chair. Dentist Albert Southwick, apparently, did not even suspect what fate was in store for the idea that had come into his head. Today, this method of execution has become one of the symbols of the United States. But the electric chair was invented by a dentist who just wanted to alleviate the suffering of the people.

The United States, a country of democratic freedoms and the world's main bulwark of human rights, has constantly sought to make life and death easier for its citizens. So, 115 years ago, a new type of killing of criminals appeared in this state - the electric chair.

"humane" type of execution

Whatever the statistics say, there has always been a large percentage of especially dangerous criminals in the United States. Perhaps the fault is the contingent that historically flooded new uncharted lands - adventurers, robbers and treasure hunters. Such people were rarely stopped by moral principles; they were not afraid of killing their neighbor either. Perhaps it was the knowledge of their history that made US senators so zealously advocate the death penalty. Of course, there was a period in the history of the States when a moratorium was imposed on the execution of criminals, but it did not last long - from 1972 to 1976. Today, execution in this country is allowed in 33 states, 7 of them still use the electric chair.

Before its invention, hanging was used in the USA. Prisoners were not always "lucky". If the cervical vertebrae broke, then death was relatively painless. Quite often, such a gift of fate did not happen, and the person died of suffocation, which was considered absolutely inhumane.

Albert Southwick and his "humanism"

Many ordinary people believe that this type of execution was invented by a madman, but in fact it is not. The opinions of historians on this issue are ambiguous. Who invented the electric chair? Edison, Brown or Southwick?

The idea of ​​electrocution belongs to the dentist Albert Southwick. Once he saw how a drunkard stepped on bare wires and died instantly. It seemed to Mr. Southwick that the man's death was instantaneous and painless. He spoke about his idea to the head of the Society for the Protection of Animals from Cruelty, Colonel Rockwell. The dentist proposed to kill sick animals with electric current, and not to drown them. Rockwell liked the idea, and the following month Southwick began experimenting on animals.

He published his observations in a scientific journal. After a certain number of experiments, he turned to his friend - Senator David McMillan - with a proposal to use the current as a tool for the death penalty. Macmillan was a supporter of this procedure, and when he heard that the current was less painful, he unconditionally agreed to submit the papers to the Senate in order to approve the procedure. In 1886, the law "On the study of the most humane kind On June 5, 1888, they signed a document "On the introduction of a new humane form of execution in the state of New York."

Which current is more efficient?

Humanists immediately faced the question of how to design the perfect electric chair. The law was passed, but the apparatus was not ready. In addition, the researchers did not know what kind of current to use: direct or alternating.

Direct current was the brainchild of Thomas Edison, alternating current - Nikola Tesla. The battle of the titans began between scientists, or rather, between Edison and Westinghouse, the investor who bought the patents for Tesla's invention. Addison did not want his invention to become a symbol of the death penalty, so he made every effort to discredit Tesla's methodology and convince the commission that studied death by electricity that alternating current kills more painlessly and quickly than direct current.

Development of an execution device

The issue was resolved, alternating current defeated lethal injection. Discussions began on how the procedure should proceed. After much discussion, engineer Harold Brown suggested that the prisoner be placed on a chair and electrodes attached to his body. It is to him that the electric chair owes its appearance. On January 1, 1889, the law on execution using such a device came into force. By the above date, the first electric chair was already ready.

Operating principle

Execution in the electric chair was supposed to reduce the torment of the criminal, reduce pain. The developers of the device cut out a massive wooden chair, brought electrodes to it. One of them at the end with a wet washcloth was attached to the convict's head, the other was planned to be brought to the spine. The electrodes were soaked in saline beforehand. The electric chair voltage was 2000 volts. The legs and arms of the offender had to be rigidly fixed with straps. The current was supplied by a generator.

This technique was later improved. Now the wires are brought to the ankles and to the head. The voltage is 2700 volts.

First execution

The first execution on the Westinghouse apparatus, and this is what this device was called for some time, took place on the scheduled date - August 6, 1890. The first person to be intentionally electrocuted was a Buffalo merchant, William Kemmler. In a fit of jealousy and a drunken stupor, he hacked his wife to death with an axe. The candidate was excellent, and they decided to test the electric chair on him. The prison guard was visibly nervous and could not cope with the trembling in his hands, which made it impossible to properly fasten the belts. Kemmler was even indignant and asked the warden to calm down. The switch was lowered by Edwin Davis. If we talk about who invented the electric chair, in terms of who designed it, then it was Mr. Davis. He was immediately given the nickname "Electrician of the State".

Tension ran through the wires, all those gathered began to enthusiastically exclaim that they had entered the era of humanity. But to the surprise of the witnesses, the perpetrator did not die. Then the current was given again, but the generators needed time to charge. During these few minutes, Kemmler groaned and gasped. The current was given again, the head of the criminal began to smoke, and he finally gave up his last breath. Some of those present noted that it would be faster with an ax.

Opponents of the electric chair

After the first killing of a person by electric current, it became clear that the method was not only not finalized - it was brutal and cruel. The first opponent of electric shock was John Westinghouse, but he hardly thought about the humanity of the issue. The entrepreneur did not want AC to be used. Supporters of this type of execution immediately rushed to refine their device, and opponents began to sound the alarm. Did the developers of this murder weapon know that their apparatus would be the impetus for the emergence of human rights organizations and fighters for human rights? It was those executed in the electric chair that became the reason for the formation of a movement against killing in this way. In the 20th century, the abolitionist movement began in the United States, and the search for a humane instrument of the death penalty continues to this day.

Today, electric chair execution is used only in the state of Virginia, in seven other states this type of execution is allowed. The lethal injection supplanted this "humane" device over time.

AT late XIX century, Thomas Edison invented the incandescent lamp, which was a truly great invention that made it possible to use electricity to light cities ...

A dentist in Buffalo, New York named Albert Southwick thought that electricity could be used in his medical practice as a pain reliever.
One day, Southwick saw one of the Buffalo residents touch the exposed wires of an electric generator at the city's power plant and die, Southwick thought, almost instantly and painlessly.
This incident led him to the idea that the execution using electricity could replace hanging as a more humane and quick punishment.
First, Southwick spoke with the head of the Society for the Protection of Animals from Cruelty, Colonel Rockwell, suggesting the use of electricity to get rid of unwanted animals instead of drowning them (a method traditionally used).
Rockwell liked this idea.

In 1882, Southwick began experimenting on animals, publishing his results in scientific papers.
Southwick then showed the results to his influential friend, Senator David McMillan. Southwick stated that the main advantage of electrocution was that it was painless and quick.

Macmillan was committed to retaining the death penalty; he was attracted by this idea as an argument against the abolition of the death penalty, because this type of execution cannot be called cruel and inhumane, therefore, supporters of the abolition of the death penalty will lose their most compelling arguments.
Macmillan relayed what he heard to New York Governor David Bennett Hill.

In 1886, the "Law for the establishment of a commission to investigate and present an opinion on the most humane and acceptable method of carrying out the death sentence" is passed.
The commission included Southwick, Judge Matthew Hale and politician Eluridge Gerry.
The conclusion of the commission, set out on ninety-five pages of the report, was as follows: best method The execution of the death sentence is an execution using electricity.
The report recommended that the state replace hanging with a new type of execution.
Governor Hill signs the law on June 5, 1888, which was to take effect on January 1, 1889, and begin a new, humane punishment in the state of New York.

It remained to decide the question concerning the apparatus for carrying out the sentence and the question of what type of electric current should be used: direct or alternating.
It is worth considering the history associated with alternating and direct currents. How do they differ, and which current is more suitable for execution?
Long before the invention of Thomas Edison, scientists from different countries have worked on this subject, but no one has succeeded in using electricity in Everyday life. Edison put into practice the theory developed before him.
Edison's first power station was built in 1879; almost immediately, representatives from different US cities went to the scientist.
Edison's DC system had its difficulties. Direct current flows in one direction. Supplying direct current is not possible over a long distance, it was necessary to build power plants, even to provide electricity to a medium-sized city.

The way out was found by the Croatian scientist Nikola Tesla. He developed the idea of ​​using alternating current.
Alternating current can change direction several times per second, creating a magnetic field without losing electrical voltage.
AC voltage can be stepped up and down using transformers.
High voltage current can be transmitted over long distances with little loss, and then, through a step-down transformer, bring electricity to consumers.
Some cities used an alternating current system (but not designed by Tesla), and this system attracted investors.

One such investor was George Westinghouse, famous for his invention of the airbrake.
Westinghouse intended to make the use of AC profitable, but Edison's DC technology was more popular at the time. Tesla worked for Edison, but he did not pay attention to his developments, and Tesla quit.
He soon patented his ideas and was able to demonstrate them in action.
In 1888, Westinghouse bought forty patents from Tesla, and within a few years over a hundred cities were using the alternating current system. Edison's enterprise began to lose ground. It became obvious that the AC system would replace the DC system.
However, Edison did not believe this. In 1887, he began to discredit the Westinghouse system by requiring his employees to collect information on deaths caused by alternating current, in the hope of proving that his system was safer for the public.

The battle of the titans, as this story is sometimes called, began when the question arose about the type of current that was to be used in the death penalty apparatus. Edison did not want his invention to be associated with death, he wanted alternating current to be used in the death penalty machine.

On June 5, 1888, the New York Evening Post published a letter from Harold Brown warning of the dangers of alternating current. This letter caused an alarmed reaction in the society. In the 1870s, Brown was an employee of Edison, and it can be assumed that this letter was registered. In 1888, Brown conducted a series of experiments on animals, demonstrating the destructive power of alternating current. Two second-hand alternators were used in the experiments, since Westinghouse refused to sell his generators. Experiments were carried out on several dozen dogs, cats, and two horses.

The speech of the respected scientist Thomas Edison before the commission on the decision of the method of execution made a vivid impression. The legendary inventor convinced everyone present that death with the use of electricity is painless and quick, of course, in the case of using alternating current. The commission had the option of introducing execution by lethal injection.
Lethal injection is considered more humane than the electric chair. In the 20th century, almost all states that have the death penalty began to use it.

Maybe many wouldn't suffer in the electric chair if there wasn't competition between campaigns or Edison's persuasive speech to the commission, though main question was that execution by lethal injection should be carried out with the help of doctors or by the doctors themselves, which is impossible for obvious reasons.

The first execution took place on January 1, 1889.
A few decades after this event, this "unit" was called the Westinghouse chair or "Westinghoused".

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.
The first "tester" of innovation was a killer named Kemmsler. For obvious reasons, he could not describe his feelings, but the witnesses of the execution noted that 15-20 seconds after the first discharge, the criminal was still alive.
I had to turn on the current of a higher voltage and for a longer time. For a long time and painfully, the “experiment” was brought “to the end”. This execution caused a lot of protests from the American and world community.

And the technology of killing with the help of an electric chair is as follows: the offender is seated on a chair, tied to it with leather straps and securing the wrists, ankles, hips and chest. Two copper electrodes are fixed on the body, one on the leg, the skin under it is usually shaved for better current conduction, and the second is applied to the shaved crown. Typically, the electrodes are lubricated with a special gel to improve current conduction and reduce skin burning. An opaque mask is put on the face.

The executioner presses the switch button on the control panel, giving the first discharge with a voltage of 1700 - 2400 volts and a duration of 30 - 60 seconds. The time is set on the timer in advance, and the current is turned off automatically. After 2 discharges, the doctor examines the body of the offender, who may not have been killed by previous discharges. Death occurs as a result of cardiac arrest and respiratory paralysis.

However, modern executors have come to the conclusion that the passage of current through the brain does not cause instant cardiac arrest (clinical death), but only prolongs the torment. Now criminals are cut and electrodes are inserted into the left shoulder and right thigh, so that the discharge passes right through the aorta and heart.

Although all methods of execution are more or less cruel, the electric chair is characterized by frequent and tragic malfunctions that cause additional suffering for the convicted person, especially in cases where the equipment is old and needs to be repaired.

All this led to the fact that, under the influence of the famous American human rights activist Leo Jones, the electric chair was recognized as a "cruel, inapplicable" punishment, contrary to the US Constitution.

At the choice of the convict, along with a lethal injection, and in Kentucky and Tennessee, only those who committed a crime earlier than a certain date have the right to choose to use the electric chair (in Kentucky - April 1, 1998, in Tennessee - January 1, 1999). In Nebraska, the electric chair was used as the only method of execution, but on February 8, 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that it was a "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the constitution. In Oklahoma, it can only be used in strictly specified cases, for example, if all other methods of execution are found unconstitutional at the time of the execution of the death sentence.

During 2004 this method of execution was used only once, in 2005 it was never used, in 2006 - once.

The last known case of using the electric chair was on March 18, 2010, when Paul Powell, a racist murderer, was executed in Virginia, who killed a girl for dating an African American, and also raped and tried to kill her sister.

Device and principle of operation

The electric chair is a chair made of dielectric material with armrests and a high back, equipped with straps for rigid fixation of the sentenced. Hands are attached to the armrests, legs - in special clamps on the legs of the chair. The chair also comes with a helmet. Electrical contacts are connected to the ankle attachment points and to the helmet. The technical support includes a step-up transformer. During the execution, an alternating current with a voltage of about 2700 is supplied to the contacts, the current limiting system maintains a current through the body of the convict of the order of 5. (The figures given are for the electric chair used in Massachusetts, as described in section .) The current and voltage are limited so that the condemned person does not burst into flames during the execution.

The chair's power management system has a power-on protection that must be deactivated immediately before the execution by the person in charge using a special key. According to one version, the chair may have one or more control switches, by pressing which the current is turned on. In this case, they are turned on simultaneously by different executioners, and in reality the current turns on only one of them. This order is used so that no one, including the performers themselves, could know who actually carried out the execution (by analogy with the well-known type of execution, when parts of the shooters are given weapons loaded with blank cartridges).

The order of execution

The convict is seated in an electric chair, the hands are attached to the armrests, and the legs are attached to the foot contact mounts. Before putting the helmet on, a hood is put on the suicide bomber's head, or his eyes are sealed. The helmet is put on the head of the convict, on which the hair on the top of the head is shaved before execution. A sponge impregnated with saline is inserted into the helmet, this is done in order to ensure minimal electrical resistance to contact in the helmet with the head and, thus, hasten death and alleviate the physical suffering of the convict. The torso is fixed with additional straps.

After turning off the protection system, the executioner turns on the current. The voltage is turned on twice, for one minute, with a break of 10 seconds (in different designs, the number of turns on and time intervals may vary). After turning off the power, the doctor must make sure that the convict is dead. In some US states and states, if death does not occur, the operation may continue. In the laws of others, a pardon is provided if the convict miraculously survived three switching on of the current for one minute. William Vandiver was killed only after the fifth discharge of current (October 16, 1985, Indiana (1001 deaths, A.P. Lavrin)).

Humanity of execution in the electric chair

The electric chair was introduced as a humane means of execution, allowing a criminal to be put to death without causing him unnecessary suffering. Supporters of this type of execution claim that it is painless - the electric current of the parameters used destroys departments nervous system, responsible for the sensation and awareness of pain, in a time twenty to thirty times less than is necessary for a person to feel pain. Opponents of the electric chair point out that these claims are the product of theoretical calculations, not proven fact.

In some cases, before the onset of death, it is necessary to pass a current through the body of the executed for several minutes or even longer. In this case, the executed person may experience spontaneous urination, defecation, vomiting, including blood, darkening and charring of the skin. There were precedents that the eyes of the executed person burst or went out of their sockets. The room smells of burnt flesh, and smoke may rise. Cases of fire are known (the hair on the head catches fire). In the event of a malfunction in the operation of the equipment or any violation of the rules of use, death may not occur immediately. On the other hand, according to American organizations that advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, the number of such overlays when using the electric chair is still significantly less than when executed by lethal injection.

Story

The creation of the electric chair is associated with the name of Thomas Edison. In the United States, Edison, who organized the first DC power supply system, actively competed with new AC-based power supply systems, which was called the war of currents. Edison convinced consumers of the shortcomings of the competitor's system, promoted the danger of such systems, including public experiments on killing animals with alternating current.

These events coincided with the discussion that began in the country about choosing a more humane method of the death penalty (until the 80s of the 19th century, hanging was mainly used in the USA. Every now and then, horrifying scenes of too long and painful execution leaked into the press: even the most experienced the executioner sometimes could not foresee the nuances, and death did not come from a fracture of the vertebrae, as was supposed, but from strangulation, which is more painful.

The increasing use of electricity was naturally accompanied by occasional accidents resulting in deaths. In 1881, in Buffalo, New York, dentist Albert Southwick accidentally witnessed the death of an elderly drunk who touched the contacts of an electric generator. Struck by how quickly and apparently painlessly death came, Southwick turned to a friend, Senator David McMillan, with a proposal to replace the rope with wires. He asked the New York State Legislature to consider the prospect of using electricity on death row to stop hanging. In 1886, a commission was set up to investigate the question "as to the most humane and commendable method of carrying out the death penalty." At this stage, the famous Thomas Edison joined the history of the electric chair, so tenaciously that this chair, by analogy with the guillotine, could be called "Edisonina" (although the prison population of America calls it "yellow mother" or "old smokehouse"). Inventor arranged in West Orange (English) Russian (NJ) revealing experience: several cats and dogs were lured onto a metal plate energized with 1000 VAC. In 1888, the New York State Legislature passed a law establishing electrocution as the state's method of carrying out death sentences.

In the latter half of 1888, inventor Harold Brown and Columbia University employee Fred Peterson conducted research in the Edison Laboratories on the use of electricity for the death penalty. Within a few months, more than two dozen dogs were electrocuted, according to the results of the experiments, on December 12, 1888, the group presented a report to the New York State Forensic Society recommending an electric chair as an execution tool (other options were also considered, including a tank with water and a table with a rubber coating). On January 1, 1889, the Electric Execution Act went into effect in New York State.

The opponent of the electric chair was George Westinghouse, who had previously developed a system for supplying consumers with alternating current electricity, Edison's main competitor. After the introduction of the electric chair law, Westinghouse refused to supply alternating current generators to prisons, as a result of which Edison and Brown had to buy generators in a roundabout way.

The first people sentenced to death in the electric chair were William Kemmler and Joseph Chapleau (the first for the murder of his mistress, the second for the murder of a neighbor). Chapleau was pardoned and received a life sentence. Westinghouse also tried to save Kemmler, for which he hired lawyers who demanded an appeal against the verdict on the basis that the execution in the electric chair falls under the definition of "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution, but the appeals were rejected.

In 1890 Edwin Davies, an electrician at Auburn Jail, developed the first working model of the electric chair. On August 6, 1890, William Kemmler was the first person in the world to be executed in the electric chair at Auburn Prison. Although one of the reporters stated: “He didn’t hurt at all!”, In reality, the execution did not go quite smoothly: after the first turn on of the current, Kemmler was still alive, the current had to be turned on again. George Westinghouse commented on the execution with the words: "They would have done better with an ax" (Kemmler killed his mistress with an ax).

In 1896, the electric chair was introduced in Ohio, in 1898 in Massachusetts, in 1906 in New Jersey, in 1908 in Virginia, in 1910 in North Carolina. Over the next ten years, it was legalized in more than ten states and became the most popular execution tool in America. In just over a hundred years of use, more than 4,300 people have been executed in the electric chair.

Conceived as a means of discrediting AC power systems, the electric chair just failed to perform this function. Despite its appearance, the use of alternating current expanded. Edison was later forced to admit that he had underestimated the benefits of alternating current. In 1912, Westinghouse was awarded the Edison Medal for his achievements in the development of this technology.

Outside USA

There are known cases of the use of home-made electric chairs as a tool of torture by various organized crime groups at the PSP, in particular, the "slave owner" Alexander Komin from Vyatskiye Polyany used a home-made electric chair to kill one of his prisoners.

Famous people who were executed in the electric chair

• William Kemmler William Kemmler) (, New York), the first person in the world to be executed in the electric chair; killed his mistress with an ax
• Martha Place (English) Martha Place) (, New York), the first woman executed in the electric chair; was found guilty of murdering her 17-year-old stepdaughter (the girl was strangled by her stepmother)
• Leon Czolgosz Leon Czolgosz) ( , New York), assassin of President McKinley
• Chester Gillette (ur. Chester Gillette) ( , New York)
• Arthur Hodges. Arthur Hodges) ( , Arkansas)
• Charles Becker (ur. Charles Becker) ( , New York)
• Sacco and Vanzetti Sacco and Vanzetti) ( , Massachusetts), executed on trumped-up charges, became a textbook example of politically motivated persecution.
• Ruth Snyder Ruth Snyder) ( , New York)
• Giuseppe Zangara (ur. Giuseppe Zangara) (, Florida), attempted on the life of President-elect F. Roosevelt and killed the mayor of Chicago
• Albert Fish. Albert Fish) ( , New York
• Bruno Hauptmann (ur. Bruno Hauptmann) (, New Jersey), found guilty of kidnapping and murdering the young son of Charles Lindbergh
• Anna Maria Han Anna Marie Hahn) ( , Ohio
• Herman and Paul Petrillo Herman and Paul Petrillo) ( , Pennsylvania)
• Nazi Agents (Washington, DC)
• Louis Lepke (ur. Louis Lepke) ( , New York)
• Lena Baker (ur. Lena Baker) ()
• Willie Francis Willie Francis) ( , Louisiana)
• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Julius and Ethel Rosenberg) (, New York), executed for espionage - the transfer of information about the American nuclear bomb to Soviet agents. Previously, it was believed that their guilt was not fully proven. The now declassified materials of the Venona Project have proven Julius' involvement in espionage.
• Martin, Rhonda Bell Rhonda Belle Martin) ( , Alabama), American serial killer
• Charles Starkweather (ur. Charles Starkweather) ( , Nebraska), American serial killer
• James French (ur. James French) ()
• John Spenkelink John Spenkelink) (1979, Florida) - the first person executed in the electric chair after the abolition of the moratorium on the death penalty (he was convicted even before the moratorium was introduced).
• Larry da Silva Larry da Silva) (1979) - his execution was shown in the documentary film Faces of Death
• John Louise Evans John Louis Evans) ( , Alabama)
• Tad Bundy (English) Ted Bundy) ( , Florida , American serial killer)
• Donald Gaskins Donald Henry Gaskins, Jr.(), American serial killer
• John Joubert John Joubert (), Nebraska), American serial killer
• Pedro Medina Pedro Medina) ( , Florida)
• Gerald Stano (English) Gerald Eugene Stano) (), Florida - American serial killer (41 victims).
• Buenoano, Judias Judia Buenoano) (, Florida) - American serial killer.
• Allen Lee Davis Allen Lee Davis) ( , Florida)
• Earl Conrad Bramblett Earl Conrad Bramblett) ( , Virginia)
• James Neil Tucker James Neil Tucker) ( , South Carolina)
• Brandon Headrick (ur. Brandon Hedrick) ( , Virginia)

In culture

In literature

In music

• The execution in the electric chair was reflected in the song "Ride the Lightning" by Metallica and "Electrocution" by Sodom.
• In the video for the song "Killed by Death" by Motorhead, the police electrocute frontman Lemmy, who at the end of the video comes to life and leaves own grave on a motorcycle.
• The electric chair as an element of a stage show is used at concerts by American shock rocker Alice Cooper.
• In Madonna's "Die Another Day" video, she is put in the electric chair, but she escapes; also on the Re-Invention World Tour, Madonna sang the song "Lament" in the electric chair.
• The song "The Mercy Seat" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is written from the perspective of a man on death row. The title of the song refers both to God's throne and to the electric chair.
• In the clip Nogu Svelo! "S.O.S in the Ass" events of some sort erotic game turn around the electric chair.
• In Nike Borzov's video "The Last Song", he is executed in the electric chair.
• In Philip Kirkorov's video "You Will Believe", the protagonist is put in an electric chair. One second before the power-on time, the execution is cancelled.
• In the video for Eminem's song "We Made You" there is a scene where he is sentenced to death and the sentence is carried out. However, Eminem does not even feel discomfort.
• Rage Against The Machine's "No Shelter" video features a mock electric chair execution of American anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti.

• The electric chair is mentioned in the song "Fucking Police" by Metal Corrosion, as well as in "Song Without Words" by Kino.

To the cinema

• In the film "Angels with Dirty Faces" one of the main characters of the film, Rocky, was executed in the electric chair.
• In the movie "Sin City" one of the characters was also executed by means of an electric chair, while he was killed after only two execution attempts.
• In The Crow 3 Salvation, the protagonist, Alex Corvis, was executed in the electric chair. The main antagonist of the film also accepts death in the electric chair.
• In the film "Monster's Ball", the artist was executed in the electric chair.
• In the film "Constantine: Lord of Darkness" the hero of the film uses the electric chair of Sing Sing Prison to travel to hell.
• The film The Green Mile shows the execution of a death sentence using the electric chair.
• In the movie "Neither Dead nor Alive", a convict is brought to the reopened Alcatraz prison for execution in the electric chair.
• In the movie "Death Man" (in the original - "Alive") the main character was sentenced to death by means of an electric chair, but survived.
• In one of the episodes of the third season of the Quantum Leap series, called "The Last Dance Before Execution", Sam Beckett, the main character, becomes a criminal sentenced to be executed in the electric chair.
• In the movie Passenger 57, the terrorist Charles Rein is sent by plane to Los Angeles for execution in the electric chair.
• In the Escape series, the executions of Lincoln Burrows and the General.
• In the horror film Electroshock (1989), the main villain was executed in a chair, but he survived using the electric shock to rise from the dead.
• In the horror film Dead Man Walking (1936), a group of criminals kill a judge and frame John Ellman (Boris Karloff), who is accused of murder and sentenced to death in the electric chair. Later, two witnesses are found in his favor, but just at the moment when he finally manages to get through to the prison, the execution is carried out.
• The film The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) ends with protagonist Ed Crane preparing to be executed by the electric chair.
• The first episode of the first season of the series "Tales from the Crypt" (1989) tells about the prison executioner, who has become so fond of his electrical profession, which eventually ends up in the electric chair.
• Toward the end of the film "Supercop", the protagonist is tried to be executed by means of an electric chair, but he, having superpowers, transfers the tension to the spectators of the execution and the executioner.
• In The Lonely Hearts movie's finale, the murderous lovers (Salma Hayek and Jared Leto) are executed using the electric chair. The execution scene is replete with a large number of physiological details and details of death in the electric chair.
• The film The Faces of Death shows footage of the death penalty in the electric chair.

In computer games

• In the first part of Unreal, the protagonist, wandering around a crashed space prison, can find a sentenced prisoner in an electric chair. After the ship crashes, the prisoner may already be dead, but the player has the ability to "finish him off" by activating the chair.