Execution by electric chair: what a person feels. How does an electric chair work? How does an electric chair work?

Assassin of President McKinley. Throughout the 20th century, it was used in 26 states, but in last decades it has been actively replaced 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.

Currently, it can be used in six states - Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia at the choice of the convicted person along with lethal injection, and in Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida only those who committed a crime before a certain date have the right to choose the use of the electric chair (in Kentucky - April 1, 1998, in Tennessee - January 1, 1999). In Tennessee and Virginia, the electric chair can also be used if the 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 confirmation of the death sentence by the Florida Supreme Court; the default is lethal injection. The last electrocution in 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 "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the constitution. In Arkansas and Oklahoma, it can be used only in strictly specified cases, for example, if all other methods of execution are found unconstitutional at the time of execution.

In the state of Alabama, since 2018, the procedure for using execution methods follows the following regulations:

Lethal injection is routinely used
If it is “impossible to use the injection” or its recognition as unconstitutional, execution is carried out using pure nitrogen ( the new kind execution, probably must be applied using a special mask)
If injection and “execution by nitrogen inhalation” are declared unconstitutional or it is impossible to use both methods of execution, the electric chair is used
If all are declared unconstitutional three methods execution or the impossibility of their execution is carried out by shooting.

During 2001, 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2014-2018, this method of execution was not used even once, in all other years of the 21st century - once each. In Kentucky and Nebraska, the electric chair was used in last time in 1997, in Georgia - in 1998 ( further use was prohibited Supreme Court Georgia in 2001), Florida in 1999, Alabama in 2002, Tennessee in 2007, South Carolina in 2008. IN last years The electric chair is used only in Virginia (between 2009 and 2013, three people sentenced to death were executed by electric chair death penalty) .

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

Video on the topic

Device and principle of operation

The electric chair is a chair made of dielectric material with armrests and a high back, equipped with belts to firmly secure the prisoner. The arms are attached to the armrests, the legs are secured in special clamps on the chair legs. The chair also comes with a special helmet. Electrical contacts are connected to the ankle attachment points and to the helmet. Part technical support step-up transformer included. During the execution of the execution, the contacts are supplied with alternating current with a voltage of about 2700, the current limiting system maintains a current through the body of the convicted person of about 5. The current and voltage are limited to prevent the condemned person from catching fire during execution.

The chair's power management system has power-on protection that must be deactivated immediately before execution. responsible person 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 only one of them turns on the current. This procedure is used to ensure that no one, including the perpetrators themselves, can know who actually carried out the execution (similar to the widespread known species execution, when part of the shooters is given a weapon loaded with blank cartridges).

Execution procedure

The condemned person is seated in an electric chair, his arms are attached to the armrests, and his legs are attached to the leg contacts. Before putting down the helmet, a hood is put on the suicide bomber’s head, or his eyes are covered. The helmet is placed on the convict's head, where the hair on the top of the head is shaved before execution. A sponge soaked in saline solution is inserted into the helmet to ensure minimal electrical resistance contact of the helmet with the head and, thus, hasten death and alleviate the physical suffering of the convicted person. The torso is secured 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 number of starts and time intervals may vary). After turning off the power, the doctor must make sure that the convicted person is dead. In some US states and countries, if death does not occur, the operation may continue. William Vandiver was killed only after the fifth 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 direct current power supply system, actively competed with new power supply systems based on alternating current, which was called the war of currents. Edison convinced consumers of the shortcomings of his competitors' systems and propagated the dangers of such systems, including conducting 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 death penalty (until the 80s of the 19th century, hanging was mainly used in the United States. Every now and then, horrifying 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 occurred not from a fracture of the vertebrae, as was supposed, but from strangulation, which was more painful.

The ever-increasing use of electricity was naturally accompanied by periodic accidents that resulted in deaths. In 1881, in Buffalo, New York, dentist Albert Southwick accidentally witnessed the death of an elderly drunkard who touched contacts. electric generator. Amazed by how quickly and seemingly painlessly his death occurred, Southwick turned to his friend, Senator David McMillan, with a proposal to replace the rope with wires. He asked the New York State Legislature to consider the use of electricity in the death penalty to eliminate hanging. In 1886, a commission was created to study the question of "the most humane and commendable method of carrying out death sentences." 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 “Edisonine” (although the prison population of America calls it “yellow mother” or “ old smokehouse"). The inventor set up in West Orange (English)Russian(New Jersey) illustrative experiment: several cats and dogs were lured onto a metal plate under a voltage of 1000 V AC. In 1888, the New York State Legislature passed a law establishing electrocution as the state's method of execution.

In the second half of 1888, inventor Harold Brown and Columbia University employee Fred Peterson conducted research at Edison's laboratories on the use of electricity for capital punishment. Over the course of several months, more than two dozen dogs were electrocuted; based on the results of the experiments, on December 12, 1888, the group presented a report to the New York State Forensic Society, which recommended the electric chair as an execution weapon (other options were considered, including the tank with water and table with rubber coating). On January 1, 1889, the Electrical Execution Law came into effect in New York State.

An 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 electrocution law was enacted, Westinghouse refused to supply alternating current generators to prisons, forcing Edison and Brown to purchase generators through a roundabout route.

The first people sentenced to death by electric chair were William Kemmler and Joseph Chapleau (the first for the murder of his mistress, the second for the murder of his neighbor). Chapleau was pardoned and received a life sentence. Westinghouse also tried to save Kemmler, for which he hired lawyers who demanded an appeal of the verdict on the basis that execution by 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 Davis, an electrician at the Auburn jail, developed the first current model electric chair. On August 6, 1890, William Kemmler was the first person in the world to be executed by electric chair at Auburn Prison. Although one of the reporters said: “He was not in pain at all!”, in reality the execution did not go entirely smoothly: after the first turn on of the current, Kemmler was still alive, the current had to be turned on a second time. George Westinghouse commented on the execution with the words: “They would have done better with an axe” (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 more states and became the most popular execution weapon in America. In just over a hundred years of use, the electric chair has executed more than 4,300 people.

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

Outside the US

“Slave owner” Alexander Komin from Vyatskie Polyany used a homemade electric chair to kill one of his prisoners.

Notorious people executed by electric chair

William Kemmler (New York) is 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 Gillette (New York) is a murderer who became the prototype for a fictional character in Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy.
Charles Becker (English)Russian(, New York) - New York police officer, the first police officer in the United States 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) - Serial killer, known as "Moon Maniac", "The Gray Ghost", "The Brooklyn Vampire", "The Boogie Man", "The Werewolf of Wisteria".
Bruno Richard Hauptmann (English)Russian(, New Jersey) - German criminal convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr.
Anna Maria Hahn (Ohio
Herman and Paul Petrillo (Pennsylvania) are the leaders of the Philadelphia poison ring gang of hitmen.
Herbert Haupt, Edward John Curling, Richard Quirin, Heinrich Harm Heinck, Hermann Otto Neubauer, Werner Thiel (Washington) - German agents during World War II, participants in Operation Pastorius (English)Russian.
Louis Lepke (New York) is 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 executed for the murder of her employer.
Willie Francis (Louisiana) - black juvenile delinquent, sentenced to death and twice subjected to execution 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 (Nebraska) is an American serial killer known as the “binge killer.”
James French (English)Russian(, Oklahoma) - the last prisoner executed before the moratorium on the death penalty was adopted in the United States in

Until recently, electrocution was considered one of the most humane ways of killing criminals. However, over the years of use, it has become clear that this type of execution is by no means completely painless, but, on the contrary, can cause terrible suffering to the convicted person. What can happen to a person caught in the electric chair?

History of the Electric Chair

Criminals began to be executed by electric chair at the end of the 19th century, when supporters of a “progressive” society decided that earlier existing species executions such as burning at the stake, hanging and beheading are inhumane. From their point of view, the criminal should not suffer additionally during the execution process: after all, the most precious thing - his life - is already taken away from him.

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

The essence of the execution is this. The top of the head and the back of the lower leg are shaved bald for the convicted person. Then the torso and arms are firmly tied with belts to a chair made of dielectric, with a high back and armrests. The legs are secured using special clamps. At first, the criminals were blindfolded, then they began to put a hood on their heads, and then Lately- a special mask. One electrode is attached to the head, on which a helmet is placed, and the other to the leg. The executioner turns on the switch button, which passes through the body an alternating current of up to 5 amperes and a voltage of 1700 to 2400 volts. Typically the execution takes about two minutes. Two discharges are given, each one is turned on for one minute, the break between them is 10 seconds. Death that must occur from cardiac arrest, in mandatory recorded by the doctor.

This method of execution was first used on August 6, 1890 in the Auburn prison in the US state of New York to William Kemmler, convicted of murdering his mistress Tillie Zeigler.

To date, more than 4 thousand people have been executed in this way in the United States. A similar type of execution was also used in the Philippines. Communist spouses Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who worked for Soviet intelligence, also ended their lives in the electric chair.

“False humane” procedure

It was assumed that when passed through the body electric current the person will die immediately. But this did not always happen. Often, eyewitnesses had to observe how people put in the electric chair convulsed, bit their tongues, foam and blood came out of their mouths, their eyes popped out of their sockets, involuntary bowel movements occurred and Bladder. During the execution, some uttered piercing screams... Almost always, after the discharge was given, a light smoke began to emanate from the skin and hair of the convict. There have also been cases of a person sitting in an electric chair whose head caught fire and exploded. Quite often, the burnt skin was “stuck” to the belts and seat. The bodies of those executed were, as a rule, so hot that it was impossible to touch them, and the “aroma” of burnt human flesh hung 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 even melted.

In 1985, William Vandiver was electrocuted five times in Indiana. It took a full 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 fried alive. Even if death occurs quickly enough, then at a minimum the person feels a strong muscle spasm throughout the body, as well as acute pain in the places where the electrodes come into contact with the skin. After this, loss of consciousness usually occurs. Here is the recollection of one survivor: “My mouth tasted like cold peanut butter. I felt my head and left leg burning, so I tried my best to break free from the bonds.” 17-year-old Willie Francis, who sat in the electric chair in 1947, shouted: “Turn it off! Let me breathe!

Repeatedly the execution became painful as a result of various failures and malfunctions. Thus, on May 4, 1990, when the criminal Jesse D. Tafero was executed, the synthetic padding under the helmet caught fire, and the convict received third- or fourth-degree burns. A similar thing happened on March 25, 1997 with Pedro Medina. In both cases it was necessary to turn on the current 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 an entire family, Allen Lee Davis, who had not only his mouth (instead of a gag), but also his nose sealed with leather tape before his execution, caused great resonance. As a result, he suffocated.

Stool or injection?

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

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

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

Criminals began to be executed by electric chair at the end of the 19th century, when supporters of “progressive” society decided that previously existing types of executions, such as burning at the stake, hanging and beheading, were inhumane. From their point of view, the criminal should not suffer additionally during the execution process: after all, the most precious thing - his life - is already taken away from him.

The essence of the execution is this. The top of the head and the back of the lower leg are shaved bald for the convicted person. Then the torso and arms are firmly tied with belts to a chair made of dielectric, with a high back and armrests. The legs are secured using special clamps. At first, 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 a helmet is placed, and the other to the leg. The executioner turns on the switch button, which passes through the body an alternating current of up to 5 amperes and a voltage of 1700 to 2400 volts. Typically the execution takes about two minutes. Two discharges are given, each one is turned on for one minute, the break between them is 10 seconds. Death, which should occur from cardiac arrest, must be recorded by a doctor.

This method of execution was first used on August 6, 1890 in the Auburn prison in the US state of New York to William Kemmler, convicted of murdering his mistress Tillie Zeigler.

“False humane” procedure

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

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

Stool or injection?

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

And who came up with this humane instrument of death

The electric chair was invented by Thomas Edison. He is the author of numerous most important inventions: During Edison's lifetime, the US Patent Office issued him 1,093 patents for things like: electric meter votes in elections (1868), carbon telephone membrane (1870), incandescent lamp with carbon filament (1879) and so on. However, here we will talk about his electric chair, patented in 1890.

What is it? We have often seen American films where a prisoner is sentenced to death through the electric chair, but have we ever thought about how this infernal machine works?

An electric chair is a chair made of dielectric (that is, non-conductive) material with armrests and a high back, equipped with belts to firmly secure the prisoner. The condemned person's arms are secured to the armrests, and his legs are secured in special leg clamps. The chair also comes with a special helmet. Electrical contacts are connected to the ankle attachment points and to the helmet. The hardware includes a step-up transformer. During execution, alternating current with a voltage of about 2700 V is supplied to the contacts.

The chair is equipped with two switches, which are turned on simultaneously by different executioners, and in reality only one of them turns on the current. This procedure is used to ensure that no one, including the executors themselves, can know who actually carried out the execution (apparently, this helped to relieve the executors of the sentence from remorse).

By the way, in some states there is a regulation that if a person endures three sessions of “electrotherapy” in a row, then he is released. Believe it or not, there were some, although, of course, the vast majority of those sentenced died after the first inclusion.

The electric chair was introduced on August 6, 1890 as a humane means of execution, allowing the death of a criminal without causing him unnecessary suffering. Those who advocate this type of execution claim that it is painless, however, you must admit, this is difficult to verify.

The electric chair is currently used in six states—Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia—along with lethal injection.

The United States, a country of democratic freedoms and the world's main bastion of human rights, has constantly sought to make not only life, but also 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 may say, in the USA there has always been a large percentage of especially dangerous criminals. Perhaps this is due to the contingent that historically flooded new unexplored lands - adventurers, robbers and treasure hunters. Such people were rarely stopped by moral principles, and the murder of their neighbor did not frighten them. Perhaps it was 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 United 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 legal in 33 states, 7 of which still use the electric chair.

Before its invention, hanging was used in the United States. Prisoners were not always “lucky”. If the cervical vertebrae were broken, then death was relatively painless. Quite often, such a gift of fate did not happen, and the person died from 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; in fact, this is not the case. The opinions of historians on this issue are ambiguous. Who invented the electric chair? Edison, Brown or Southwick?

The idea of electrocution came from dentist Albert Southwick. One day he saw a drunkard step on exposed wires and die instantly. It seemed to Mr. Southwick that the man's death was instantaneous and painless. He told the head of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Colonel Rockwell, about his idea. The dentist suggested electrocuting sick animals rather than drowning them. Rockwell liked the idea, and the following month Southwick began experimenting on animals.

He published his observations in scientific journal. After a certain number of experiments, he turned to his friend, Senator David McMillan, with a proposal to use current as an instrument of capital punishment. MacMillan was a supporter of this procedure, and having heard that the current was less painful, he unconditionally agreed to transfer the papers to the Senate in order to approve the procedure. In 1886, the law “On the Study of the Most Humane Type of Death Penalty” was passed. On June 5, 1888, they signed a document “On the introduction of a new humane type of execution in the State of New York.”

Which current is more efficient?

Humanists immediately faced the question of how to develop the ideal electric chair. The law was passed, but the apparatus was not ready. In addition, the researchers did not know what type 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 from 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 about how the procedure should proceed. After much debate, engineer Harold Brown proposed placing the prisoner in a chair and attaching electrodes 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 by electric chair was supposed to reduce the torment of the criminal and reduce the pain. The developers of the device planed 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 moistened in advance saline solution. The voltage of the electric chair was 2000 volts. The legs and arms of the criminal had to be rigidly secured with belts. The current was transmitted by a generator.

Later this technique was improved. Now the wires are connected 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 as planned - August 6, 1890. The first person to be intentionally electrocuted was a merchant from Buffalo, William Kemmler. In a fit of jealousy and drunken stupor, he hacked his wife to death with an ax. The candidate was excellent, and they decided to test the electric chair. The prison guard was noticeably nervous and could not control the trembling in his hands, this made it impossible to properly fasten the belts. Kemmler was even indignant and asked the warden to calm down. Edwin Davis pulled the switch. If we talk about who invented the electric chair, in terms of who designed it, it was Mr. Davis. He immediately acquired the nickname “state electrician.”

Tension ran through the wires, all those gathered began to exclaim enthusiastically that they had entered the era of humanity. But to the surprise of the witnesses, the criminal did not die. Then the current was given again, but the generators needed time to charge. Throughout these few minutes, Kemmler moaned and gasped. The current was given again, the criminal’s head began to smoke, and he finally breathed his last. Someone present noted that it would have been faster with an axe.

Opponents of the electric chair

After the first electrocution of a person, it became clear that the method was not only unfinished, it was brutal and cruel. The first opponent of electrocution was John Westinghouse, but it is unlikely that he thought about the humanity of the issue. The entrepreneur did not want alternating current 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 device would give rise to the emergence of human rights organizations and human rights activists? 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, electrocution is used only in the state of Virginia; in seven other states this type of execution is acceptable. Lethal injection eventually replaced this “humane” device.