The invention of the electric chair. The history of the invention of the electric chair

Until recently, execution by electric chair was considered one of the most humane ways of killing 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, it can cause terrible torment to the convict. What can happen to a person caught in the electric chair?

Criminals began to be electrocuted in the late 19th century, when proponents of a "progressive" society decided that previously existing forms of execution, such as burning at the stake, hanging and beheading, were inhumane. From their point of view, the criminal should not suffer additional suffering during the execution process: after all, the most precious thing - his life - is already being taken from him.

It is believed that the first model of an electric chair was invented in 1888 by Harold Brown, who worked for Thomas Edison's company. According to other sources, dentist Albert Southwick became the inventor of the electric chair.

The essence of the execution is as follows. The convict is shaved baldly on the top of the head and the back of the leg. Then the torso and arms are tied tightly with straps to a chair made of dielectric with a high back and armrests. The legs are secured with special clips. At first, the criminals were blindfolded, then they began to put on a hood over their heads, and more recently - a special mask. One electrode is attached to the head, on which the helmet is worn, the other to the leg. The executioner turns on the button of the switch, which passes through the body an alternating current of up to 5 amperes and a voltage of 1700 to 2400 volts. Execution usually takes about two minutes. Two discharges are given, each turns on for one minute, the break between them is 10 seconds. Death, which should occur from cardiac arrest, must be recorded by a doctor.

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

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

"False humane" procedure

It was assumed that when an electric current is passed through the body, a person will die immediately. But this did not always happen. Often, eyewitnesses had to observe how people, put on an electric chair, fought in convulsions, bite their tongues, foam, blood came out of their mouths, their eyes crawled out of their sockets, and involuntary emptying of the intestines and bladder occurred. Some of them uttered piercing cries during the execution ... Almost always, after the discharge of a discharge from the skin and hair of the convict, a light smoke began to go. There were also recorded cases when a person sitting in an electric chair caught fire and exploded his head. Quite often, the burnt skin "stuck" to the seat belts and 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 a 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 criminal finally died. The last time his eyeballs melted.

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

According to experts, when exposed to such high voltage, the human body, including the brain and other internal organs, is literally roasted alive. Even if death occurs quickly enough, then at least a person feels a strong muscle spasm throughout the body, as well as acute pain in the places of contact with the skin of the electrodes. After this, loss of consciousness usually occurs. Here are the recollections of one survivor: “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 free myself from the bondage. " Willie Francis, 17, who got into the electric chair in 1947, shouted, “Shut it down! Let me breathe! "

Repeatedly the execution became painful as a result of various failures and malfunctions. For example, on May 4, 1990, when the criminal Jesse D. Tafero was executed, a synthetic pad under the helmet caught fire, 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 switched 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, aroused a great resonance; before his execution, not only his mouth (instead of a gag), but also his nose was sealed with leather tape. As a result, he suffocated.

Stool or injection?

Over time, it became clear that "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, the electric chair is used only in six American states - Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Moreover, the convict is offered a choice - an electric chair or a lethal injection. The aforementioned measure was last applied on January 16, 2013 in Virginia to Robert Gleeson, who deliberately killed two of his cellmates so that his life sentence was commuted to the death sentence.

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

At the choice of the convict, along with a lethal injection, and in Kentucky and Tennessee, only those who have committed a crime before 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 it was "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 to be unconstitutional at the time of execution of the death sentence.

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

The last known case of using the electric chair was on March 18, 2010, when Paul Powell was executed in Virginia, a racist murderer who killed a girl for dating an African American and raped and attempted 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 to firmly secure the prisoner. Hands are attached to the armrests, legs - in special clips of the chair legs. A special helmet is also attached to the chair. Electrical contacts are connected to the ankle attachment points and to the helmet. The hardware includes a step-up transformer. During the execution of 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 order 5. (The parameters quoted represent the electric chair used in Massachusetts, as described in the section.) Current and voltage are limited to prevent the convict from catching fire during execution.

The chair power management system has a protection against switching on, which must be deactivated immediately before the execution by the responsible person using a special key. According to one version, the chair can have one or more control switches, by pressing which the current is switched on. In this case, they are turned on simultaneously by different executioners, and in reality, the current turns on only one of them. This procedure 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 a weapon loaded with blank cartridges is issued to part of the shooters).

Execution procedure

The convict is seated on an electric chair, his hands are attached to the armrests, and his legs are attached to the leg contacts. Before putting on the helmet, 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 crown of the head is shaved before execution. A sponge soaked in saline is embedded in the helmet, this is done in order to ensure the minimum electrical resistance of contact in the helmet with the head and, thus, hasten the death and alleviate the physical suffering of the convict. The body 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 starts and time intervals may differ). After turning off the power, the doctor must make sure that the convicted person 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 convicted person miraculously survived three current turns on for one minute. William Wendiver was killed only after the fifth shock (October 16, 1985, Indiana (1001 deaths, A.P. Lavrin)).

The humanity of the electrocution

The electric chair was introduced as a humane means of execution, allowing a criminal to be put to death without causing unnecessary suffering. Proponents of this type of execution argue that it is painless - the electric current of the parameters used destroys the parts of the nervous system responsible for 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 and not proven fact.

In some cases, prior to 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 have spontaneous urination, defecation, vomiting, including blood, darkening and charring of the skin. There were precedents that the executioner's eyes burst or went out of their sockets. The smell of burnt flesh spreads in the room, smoke may come out. Cases of fire are known (hair on the head catches fire). In the event of equipment malfunctions or any violations of the rules of use, death may not occur immediately. On the other hand, according to American organizations advocating for the abolition of the death penalty, the number of such overlays when using the electric chair is still significantly less than in executions by lethal injection.

History

The creation of the electric chair is associated with the name of Thomas Edison. In the 1920s in the United States, Edison, who organized the first DC power supply system, actively competed with new AC power systems, which was called the war of currents. Edison convinced consumers of the shortcomings of competitors' systems, promoted the dangers of such systems, including public experiments on killing animals with alternating current.

These events coincided with the discussion that began in the country on the choice of a more humane method of the death penalty (until the 80s of the XIX century, mainly hanging was used in the United States. Every now and then horrible scenes of too long and painful executions leaked to the press: even the most experienced the executioner sometimes could not foresee the nuances, and death came not from a fracture of the vertebrae, as was supposed to, but from strangulation, which is more painful.

The increasing use of electricity, naturally, was accompanied by periodic accidents, as a result of which people died. 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. Amazed at how quickly and outwardly painless death had come, Southwick approached 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 under the death penalty in order to avoid hanging. In 1886, a commission was formed to study the question "of the most humane and commendable way of carrying out death sentences." At this stage, the famous Thomas Edison was included in the history of the electric chair, so tenaciously that this chair, by analogy with the guillotine, could be called "Edisonin" (although the prison population of America calls it "yellow mother" or "old smokehouse"). The inventor settled in West Orange (English)russian (New Jersey) Showcase experience: Several cats and dogs were lured onto a metal plate energized by 1000 VAC. In 1888, the New York State Legislature passed legislation establishing execution by electricity as the state's method of carrying out death sentences.

In the second half of 1888, inventor Harold Brown and Columbia University researcher Fred Peterson conducted research in Edison's 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 experiments, on December 12, 1888, the group submitted a report to the Forensic Society of New York State, in which it recommended the electric chair as an execution weapon (other options were considered, including a tank with water and a rubber-covered table). On January 1, 1889, the Electric Execution Act entered into force in New York State.

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

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

In 1890, Edwin Davis, an electrician at the Auburn Prison, developed the first working electric chair. On August 6, 1890, William Kemmler was the first in the world to be electrocuted at Auburn Prison. Although one of the reporters said: “It 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 switched 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 to 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 instrument of execution 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 could not fulfill just this function. Despite its appearance, the use of alternating current has 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 advances in this technology.

Outside the USA

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

High-profile people who were electrocuted

William Kemmler (eng. William Kemmler) (, New York), the first person in the world to be electrocuted; hacked his mistress with an ax
Martha Place (eng. Martha place) (, New York), the first woman to be electrocuted; was found guilty of the murder of her 17-year-old stepdaughter (stepmother strangled the girl)
Leon Cholgosh (eng. Leon Czolgosz) (, New York), assassin of President McKinley
Chester Gillett (eng. Chester gillette) ( , New York)
Arthur Hodges (eng. Arthur Hodges) (, Arkansas)
Charles Becker (eng. Charles becker) ( , New York)
Sacco and Vanzetti (eng. Sacco and Vanzetti) (, Massachusetts), executed on trumped-up charges, became a textbook example of politically motivated persecution.
Ruth Snyder (eng. Ruth snyder) ( , New York)
Giuseppe Zangara (eng. Giuseppe zangara) (, Florida), attempted on the life of President-elect F. Roosevelt and assassinated the mayor of Chicago
Albert Fish (eng. Albert fish) ( , New York
Bruno Hauptmann (eng. Bruno Hauptmann) (, New Jersey), found guilty of kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's young son
Anna Maria Heng (eng. Anna Marie Hahn) (, Ohio
Herman and Paul Petrillo (eng. Herman and paul petrillo) (, Pennsylvania)
Nazi agents (, Washington, DC)
Louis Lepke (eng. Louis Lepke) ( , New York)
Lena Baker (eng. Lena baker) ()
Willie Francis (eng. Willie francis) (, State of Louisiana)
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (eng. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg) (, New York), executed for espionage - the transfer of information about an American nuclear bomb to Soviet agents. Previously, it was believed that their guilt was not fully proven. The materials of Project Venona, now declassified, proved Julius's involvement in espionage.
Martin, Rhonda Bell (eng. Rhonda belle martin) (, Alabama), American serial killer
Charles Starkweather (eng. Charles starkweather) (, State of Nebraska), American serial killer
James French (eng. James french) ()
John Spenkelink (eng. 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 (eng. Larri da silva) (1979) - his execution was featured in the documentary Death Face
John Louise Evans (eng. John Louis Evans) (, State of Alabama)
Ted Bundy (eng. Ted bundy) (, Florida, American serial killer)
Donald Gaskins eng. Donald Henry Gaskins, Jr (), American serial killer
John Joubert (), Nebraska), American serial killer
Pedro Medina (eng. Pedro medina) (, Florida)
Gerald Stano (eng. Gerald eugene stano) () Florida - American serial killer (41 victims).
Buenoano, Judias (eng. Judias buenoano) (, Florida) is an American serial killer.
Allen Lee Davis (eng. Allen lee davis) (, Florida)
Earl Conrad Bramblett (eng. Earl conrad bramblett) (, Virginia)
James Neal Tucker (eng. James neil tucker) ( , South Carolina)
Brandon Hedrick (eng. Brandon Hedrick) (, Virginia)

In culture

In literature

In music

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

The electric chair is mentioned in the song "Fucking Militia" by Metal Corrosion, as well as in "Song without Words" by the Kino group.

To the cinema

In Angels with Dirty Faces, one of the film's main characters, Rocky, was electrocuted.
In the movie "Sin City" one of the characters was also executed by means of the electric chair, while he was killed only after two execution attempts.
In The Raven 3: Rescue, the protagonist, Alex Corvis, was electrocuted. The main antagonist of the film is also electrocuted.
In the movie "Ball of Monsters" the artist was executed in the electric chair.
In 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 by means of an electric chair.
In the movie Neither Alive nor Dead, a convict is delivered to the newly opened Alcatraz prison for execution in the electric chair.
In the film "Bomber" (original - "Alive"), the main character was sentenced to death by means of the electric chair, but survived.
In one of the episodes of the third season of the series "Quantum Leap", which is called "The Last Dance Before Execution," Sam Beckett, the main character, becomes a criminal sentenced to be executed in the electric chair.
In Passenger 57, terrorist Charles Rein is flown to Los Angeles to be electrocuted.
In the series "Escape" 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 current to rise from the dead.
In the horror film Dead Man Walking (1936), a group of criminals kills a judge and sets up John Ellman (Boris Karloff), who is accused of murder and sentenced to death in the electric chair. Later, two witnesses in his favor are found, but just at the moment when they finally manage to get through to the prison, the execution is carried out.
The Man Who Wasn't (2001) ends with a scene where the main character, Ed Crane, prepares for death by electric chair.
The first episode of the first season of Tales from the Crypt (1989) tells the story of a prison executioner who is so into the taste of his electric profession that he ends up in the electric chair himself.
Towards the end of the film "Super Policeman" they try to execute the main character by means of an electric chair, but he, possessing superpowers, transfers the tension to the audience of the execution and the executioner.
In the finale of Lonely Hearts, the murderer-lovers (Salma Hayek and Jared Leto) are carried out using the electric chair. The execution scene is replete with a lot of physiological and electrocution details.
The film "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 the crashed space prison, can find a sentenced prisoner in the electric chair. After the ship crash, the prisoner may already be dead, but the player has the opportunity to "finish off" him by activating the chair.

Who Invented the Electric Chair? A carpenter, an electrician, a scientist - such options come to mind. You will probably be surprised when you find out 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. Thomas Edison invented the incandescent lamp in the late 19th century. 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.

Idea from 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. The man was from Buffalo, New York. The one who invented the electric chair (his profession, as you can see, is somewhat unexpected), believed that it could be used as a pain reliever in medical practice. One day, Albert saw one of the Buffalo residents touch the bare wires. This man died, Southwick thought then, painlessly and almost instantly. This incident led him to the idea that execution with the use of electricity could replace the faster and more humane punishment used at that time by hanging. Southwick first suggested using electricity to dispose of unwanted animals instead of drowning them. Colonel Rockwell, head of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, loved the idea.

Commission conclusion

Southwick conducted a series of experiments on animals in 1882 and published his results in scientific newspapers. Albert is often credited as the inventor 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 a friend of his. He said that the execution using electricity is painless, which is its main advantage. McMillian advocated keeping the death penalty. This idea attracted him as an argument against its cancellation. What McMillian heard passed on to JB Hill, Governor of New York. In 1886, a special commission was created, which included Southwick (the profession of the man who invented the electric chair - the dentist, as already mentioned), Eluridge Jerry (politician) and Matthew Hale (judge). Her conclusion, which was set out in a 95-page report, stated that the best method of carrying out the death sentence was execution with electricity. The state was advised in this report to replace hanging with the new execution.

Death Penalty Law

In 1888, on June 5, the corresponding law was signed by the governor, which was to come into force in 1889. It remained to decide which type of electric current should be used: alternating or direct. How are they different? Let's figure it out.

AC and DC

Scientists from different countries worked on this issue long before the invention made by Thomas Edison. However, Edison (pictured below) was the first to put into practice the theory developed before him. The first power plant was built in 1879. Edison's system operated on direct current. However, it only flows in one direction, so it was not possible to supply current over a long distance. It was necessary to build power plants to provide a medium-sized city with electricity.

Nikola Tesla, a Croatian scientist, found a way out. He came up with the idea of \u200b\u200busing 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 step up AC voltage using transformers. Such a current can be transmitted over long distances with small losses, after which it can be supplied to consumers with electricity through a step-down transformer.

Starting to use AC

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

He wanted to make the use of AC profitable, but 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 resigned. The scientist soon patented his ideas. Westinghouse bought 40 patents from Tesla in 1888, and more than a hundred cities in a few years were using the AC system.

"Clash of the Titans"

In 1887, Edison began to discredit the system by demanding that information be collected from his workers about AC-induced deaths. So he hoped to prove that his method was safer for the population.

Clash of the Titans began when the question arose about 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 inherent peremptory and enthusiasm. The "war of currents" lasted until 2007! In New York, it was not until 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.

Edison Brochure and Speech

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

Thomas Edison's speech to the commission made a strong impression. The inventor convinced everyone present that when using alternating current, death from electricity is quick and painless. The commission to address this issue was faced with an alternative to lethal injection, which is considered more humane than execution by electric chair. It was her in the 20th century that almost all states where the death penalty existed began to be used. Perhaps, many would not have to suffer in the electric chair, if it were not for the competition between the companies, as well as Thomas Edison's convincing speech before the commission. The issue was also that the 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 the electric chair (its photo is presented below). The unit used for it was called the Vesting chair, or the Westinghouse chair, several decades later. In the spring of 1891, the following executions took place. 4 people were executed for various crimes. The method of execution of the sentence has been adjusted. The generator has become more powerful and the wires are thicker. The 2nd electrode was connected to the arm and not to the spine. These executions proceeded more smoothly, and a new method was adopted by public opinion.

Execution of William Kemmler

William Kemmler, who killed his common-law wife with an ax, was the first "test" of this innovation. He was executed in the city of Auburn in 1890, on August 6. For known reasons, he could not describe his feelings. Whoever invented the electric chair could not have foreseen what happened. The witnesses who were present at the time the verdict was brought into effect noted that the offender was still alive 15-20 seconds after the 1st discharge. 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 many protests from the world and American public.

Electric chair murder

Let's describe the technology of murder using the electric chair. The perpetrator sits on it and is tied with leather straps to a chair, securing his chest, thighs, 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 to reduce skin burning and improve current flow. An opaque mask is put on the face.

The executioner presses the switch button on the control panel, thus giving the 1st charge, the voltage of which is from 1700 to 2400 volts, and the duration is about 30-60 seconds. The timer is pre-set and the current is automatically cut off. The doctor, after two charges, examines the body of the offender, because he may still not be killed. As a result of respiratory paralysis and cardiac arrest, death occurs.

Improvement

However, the executors of our time have concluded that instantaneous cardiac arrest (that is, clinical death) does not cause current to pass through the brain. It only prolongs the agony. The criminals are now being cut, and electrodes are inserted into the right thigh and left shoulder so that the charge travels through the heart and aorta.

Electric chair - cruel punishment

Does it really matter who invented the electric chair: the carpenter or the electrician? More importantly, this method of punishment is inhuman. Although all methods of execution are cruel to one degree or another, it is the electric chair that often causes tragic malfunctions that cause additional suffering to the sentenced person, especially in cases where the equipment used is in need of repair or is old. This led to the fact that this type of death penalty was recognized under the influence of Leo Jones, a famous American human rights activist, an inapplicable, cruel punishment that is contrary to 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 to his head. Today this method of execution has become one of the symbols of the United States. The electric chair was invented by a dentist who just wanted to ease the suffering of people.

Kruglova I.

The electric chair was invented 115 years ago, becoming another symbol of the United States.

The invention of the most humane punishment at that time was accompanied by the fusion of many human vices. The inventors were guided in many ways by selfish goals, and not by the desire to alleviate suffering, improve the conditions of convicts and alleviate their fate. In the history of the invention of a new method, intrigue, competition, slander, reproaches, science and business are intertwined.

In the late 19th century, Thomas Edison (pictured below) invented the incandescent light bulb, which was a truly great invention that made it possible to use electricity to illuminate cities.

A Buffalo, New York dentist named Albert Southwick thought that electricity could be used in his medical practice as a pain reliever. One day, Southwick saw a Buffalo resident touch the bare wires of an electric generator in a city power plant and die, Southwick thought, almost instantly and painlessly. This incident gave him the idea that execution with electricity could replace hanging as a more humane and quicker punishment. Southwick first spoke with the head of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Colonel Rockwell, suggesting the use of electricity to dispose of unwanted animals instead of drowning them (a traditionally used method). Rockwell liked this idea. In 1882, Southwick began experimenting on animals, publishing his results in scientific newspapers. Southwick then showed the results to his influential friend, Senator David McMillan. Southwick stated that the main advantage of the execution with the use of electricity is that it is painless and fleeting. Macmillan was committed to maintaining 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 had heard to New York Governor David Bennett Hill. In 1886, the "Law on the Establishment of a Commission for Research and Presentation of an Opinion on the Most Humane and Acceptable Method of Executing the Death Sentence" was adopted. The commission included Southwick, Judge Matthew Hale and politician Eluridge Jerry. The conclusion of the commission, outlined in ninety-five pages of the report, was that the best method of carrying out the death penalty was by using electricity. The report recommended that the state replace hanging with a new form of execution.

Governor Hill signs the law on June 5, 1888, which was to go into effect on January 1, 1889, and initiate a new, humane, punishment in New York State.

It remained to decide the question concerning the apparatus itself for enforcing the sentence and the question of what type of electric current should be used: direct or alternating.

It is worth considering the history of AC and DC currents. How do they differ, and what current is more suitable for execution?

Long before the invention of Thomas Edison, scientists from different countries were working on this subject, but no one managed to use electricity in everyday life. Edison put into practice the theory developed before him. Edison's first power plant was built in 1879; almost immediately, representatives of different cities in the United States went to the scientist. Edison's DC system had its own difficulties. Direct current flows in one direction. It is impossible to supply direct current over a long distance; it was necessary to build power plants, even to provide electricity to a medium-sized city.

The solution was found by Croatian scientist Nikola Tesla (on the right in the photo). He developed the idea of \u200b\u200busing alternating current. The 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 with transformers. High voltage current can be transmitted over long distances with small losses, and then, through a step-down transformer, bring electricity to consumers. Several cities used an AC system (but not designed by Tesla), and this system attracted investors. One such investor was George Westinghouse, famous for his invention of the aerodynamic brake. 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 development, and Tesla resigned. 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 more than a hundred cities were using the AC system. Edison's enterprise began to lose ground.

It was becoming apparent that the AC system would replace the DC system. However, Edison did not believe it. In 1887, he began to discredit the Westinghouse system by requiring his employees to collect information on AC deaths in the hopes of proving that his system was safer for the public. (Left: Photo of Westinghouse)

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 an alternating current to be applied to the death penalty apparatus.

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

Respected scientist Thomas Edison's speech 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 a choice to introduce lethal injection. A lethal injection is considered more humane than an electric chair. In the 20th century, it was precisely this method that began to be used by almost all states in which the death penalty exists. Maybe many would not have suffered in the electric chair if there had not been competition between campaigns or Edison's convincing speech to the commission, although the main question was that the execution by lethal injection should take place with the help of doctors or the doctors themselves, which is impossible for obvious reasons.

Various methods of killing were suggested, for example, on a table or in a bath with water. Harold Brown suggested placing the convict on a chair by attaching electrodes to the convict's body. Brown and became the design engineer for the electric chair. In the midst of Edison's struggle with Westinghouse, the "Electric Executions" Act, which came into force on January 1, 1889, was passed, which was supposed to establish the only method of execution - killing with the use of electric current.

By January 1, 1889, the first electric chair was ready. This invention was considered a breakthrough in the humanization of the death penalty. No one had yet guessed that this invention would usher in the era of the struggle for the rights of the person sentenced to death.

Sources:

Belash V. "The most humane chair in the world." Kommersant Vlast. August 1, 2005
MacLeod M. Electrocution. Electricity. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/not_guilty/chair/2.html
Dr. Richard Moran. The Strange Origins of the Electric Chair.Aug. 5, 1990 Boston Globe. Appendix Part B in John N. Miskell "s monograph on Auburn Prison" s electrocutions http://www.correctionhistory.org/auburn&osborne/miskell/html/auburnchair_moran.html
American electric chairs http://users.bestweb.net/~rg/Electric%20Chairs/Americas%20Electric%20Chairs.htm
Mystery electric chair http://users.bestweb.net/~rg/mystery_electric_chair.htm

More recently, in the United States, criminals sentenced to death were sent to the electric chair. But in recent years, this "high-tech" method of execution has practically been abandoned. What is the reason?

Who invented the electric chair

Execution by electric chair began at the end of the 19th century. The "progressive" society decided that such types of executions as burning at the stake, hanging and beheading were inhumane. The offender should not additionally suffer during the execution process: after all, the most precious thing - his life - is already being taken away from him.

According to the official version, a certain incident in 1881 served as the impetus for this invention. Dentist Albert Southwick of Buffalo, New York, once witnessed an elderly man die by accidentally touching the contacts of an electric generator. It occurred to Southwick that such a death could be quick and painless. He first suggested using electricity to get rid of unnecessary animals, such as kittens or puppies. This method of mortification seemed to him more humane than, say, the practice of drowning. The idea attracted the head of the Society for the Protection of Animals from Cruelty Colonel Rockwell.

Southwick began conducting experiments in killing animals with electricity.

He published the results of his experiments in scientific journals, and then showed these articles to his friend - Senator David Macmillan. He turned to D.B. Hill, Governor of New York. In 1886, a special commission was formed to investigate the question "of the most humane and commendable way of carrying out death sentences." Southwick also joined the commission.

The famous Thomas Edison, the inventor of electricity himself, undertook the official tests. In West Orange, New Jersey, a demonstration experiment was conducted on cats and dogs. They were placed on a metal plate under a voltage of 1000 volts, as a result of which the animals died. In 1888, inventor Harold Brown and Columbia University employee Fred Peterson tested the appropriate equipment in Edison's laboratories, killing more than two dozen dogs by electric shock within a few months. On January 1, 1889, the previously passed Electric Execution Act was enacted in New York State.

The first functional electric chair was developed in 1890 by an ordinary electrician named Edwin Davis, a prison officer in Auburn.

Operating principle

The essence of the execution is as follows. The convict is shaved bald head and calf on one leg. Then the torso and arms are tied tightly with straps to a chair made of dielectric material, with a high back and armrests. The legs are secured with special clips. 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 button of the switch, which passes through the body an alternating current of up to 5 amperes and a voltage of 1700 to 2400 volts. Execution usually takes about two minutes. Two discharges are given, each turns on for one minute, the break between them is 10 seconds. The first discharge destroys the brain and central nervous system, the second leads to complete cardiac arrest. Death must be recorded by a doctor.

Cruel and unusual punishment

Not everyone approved of the innovation. So, Edison's main competitor, George Westinghouse, who supplied consumers with electrical equipment, refused to supply electric generators to prisons, considering this method of execution inhumane.

For the first time, William Kemmler, convicted of the murder of his mistress Tilly Seigler, was executed in the electric chair on August 6, 1890 at the Auburn prison in the American state of New York. Westinghouse tried to save this man, even hired lawyers for him, who demanded to appeal the sentence on the basis that execution by electric chair is a cruel and unusual punishment, therefore, should be prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution. But it did not help. The verdict was carried out. Tellingly, the executed did not die right away, the switch had to be turned on again. Westinghouse commented, "They would have done better with an ax."

Until now, more than four thousand people have been executed in the United States in this way. One of them was Leon Cholgosh, the assassin of American President McKinley. A similar type of execution was used in the Philippines.

The communist spouses Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, accused of working for Soviet intelligence and transferring American nuclear secrets to it, ended their lives in the electric chair. In particular, they allegedly gave the Soviets a blueprint for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Prominent public figures defended the Rosenberg family - among them the famous physicist Albert Einstein, the writer Thomas Mann and even Pope Pius XII. But all requests for clemency were rejected, and in 1953, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the death sentence. To this day, there are people who express doubts about the guilt of the Rosenberg spouses: the evidence against them was allegedly fabricated by the CIA - possibly to gain an advantage over the USSR in the Cold War.

"Let me breathe!"

It was assumed that when an electric current is passed through the body, a person will die immediately. But this did not always happen. Often, eyewitnesses had to observe how people, put on an electric chair, fought in convulsions, bite their tongues, foam, blood came out of their mouths, their eyes crawled out of their sockets, involuntary emptying of the intestines and bladder occurred ... Some screamed during the execution. Almost always, after the discharge of a discharge from the skin and hair of the convict, a light smoke began to go. There were also recorded cases when a person sitting in an electric chair caught fire and exploded his head. Quite often, the burnt skin "stuck" to the seat belts and seat. The bodies of the executed turned out, as a rule, so hot that it was impossible to touch them, and then the smell of burnt meat lingered in the room for a long time.

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

According to experts, when exposed to such a high voltage, the human body is literally roasted alive. Here are the recollections of one survivor: “My mouth tasted like cold peanut butter. I felt my head and left leg burning, so I tried my best to get out of the bondage. " Willie Francis, 17, who got into the electric chair in 1947, shouted, “Shut it down! Let me breathe! "

Repeatedly, the execution was painful as a result of various failures and malfunctions. So, on May 4, 1990, when the criminal Jesse D. Tafero was executed, the gasket under the helmet caught fire, the convict received third and fourth degree burns. In 1991, during the execution, one of the criminals kicked the chair so hard that he broke them.

Electric chair or injection?

It soon became clear that "humane" execution often turns into torture, and its use was limited. True, some people believe that the whole point is not at all in humanity, but in the high cost of the procedure.

Currently, the electric chair is used in six American states - Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Moreover, the convict is offered a choice of an electric chair or a lethal injection. In some states, shooting, hanging, and gas chambers are also practiced as an alternative.

The last time he was electrocuted was on January 16, 2013 in Virginia. This measure was applied to Robert Gleason, who, by the way, specially killed two inmates so that life imprisonment was commuted to a death sentence.