As you might have seen in our worst punishments show, humanity has come up with some very
gruesome forms of executing people throughout history.
Ever hear the phrase “thrown to the lions”, which the Romans called “damnatio ad bestias”?
Well not just lions, but all kinds of wild animals might have been called upon to execute
people in the past, including being sat on by an elephant.
Or what about having your insides ripped out and your limbs torn off, being literally broken
with clubs when tied to a wheel, having insects eat your insides, or having your ribs pulled
through your back into the shape of the wings of an eagle.
Yep, humans have been brutal to one another throughout history.
Maybe hanging, lethal injection, beheading, or firing squad don’t seem so bad by comparison-
but today we’ll focus on one specific form of execution, in this episode of the Infographics
Show, How Does the Electric Chair Work?
We’ll start with a little bit of history before we get into the specifics of the apparatus...
As the story goes, in the 1870s and 1880s, many people in the United States were being
electrocuted by high voltage street lighting.
This was a new phenomenon, and it got some people to thinking about execution.
You see, public executions at the time didn’t always go well, and botched hangings often
upset the more sensitive folks that came to watch the spectacle.
In fact, because of so many botched hangings, there was talk over the years about ending
capital punishment altogether.
Then came along a New York dentist and engineer called Alfred P. Southwick who led the charge
(excuse the pun) to create a more humane form of punishment in the electric chair.
He reached out to none other than Thomas Edison to fund his project.
Apparently, Edison was against capital punishment, and was at the time involved in a commercial
battle with engineer Nikolas Tesla.
Edison was a proponent of DC (or Direct Current) and Tesla of AC (or Alternating Current).
Some say Edison gave the electric chair project to Tesla because he was against capital punishment,
while others say he did that for selfish means because if AC was associated with a death
chair, people wouldn’t want that in their houses.
According to ABC Science, Edison created an advertisement that read, “Do you want electrocutioner's
current in your children's bedroom wall?”
It’s said Tesla and his backer, George Westinghouse, didn’t want their generators to power the
death chair, but Edison secretly funded a project for the electric chair that would
use alternating current.
The chair was built using AC and the first execution was of a William Kemmler, who had
been found guilty of killing his wife in a drunken rage with a hatchet.
He was executed on August 6, 1890, in Auburn Prison, New York.
The victim is said to have spent 17 seconds with 1,000 volts passing through his body.
At that point, as the story goes, someone shouted, “Great God, he is alive!”
Still conscious, the guards turned up the electricity to 2,000 volts.
According, to History Today, “Kemmler's skin began bleeding, part of his body was
seen to be singed and a horrible smell spread through the death chamber.”
At the time the New York Times wrote that the “stench was unbearable.”
He died, and Edison carried on his campaign against AC after that.
Southwick, who is credited with the invention of the chair – though there were really
many more people involved – is rumored to have said, “This is the culmination of ten
years work and study.
We live in a higher civilization today.”
Hmm, if you look at botched executions throughout history, the chair wasn’t exactly botch-proof-
the worst botched execution in what became known as “Old Sparky” was that of James
Wells on March 10, 1922, at Arkansas State Penitentiary in Little Rock.
The poor black 18-year old had been found guilty of killing a white person.
Apparently, he had to be jolted 12 times before he died.
Then a year later, according to the book, “Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions
and America's Death Penalty,” a man called F.G Bullen was electrocuted, pronounced dead,
and after being placed in a coffin, was found to be breathing.
He was subsequently returned to the chair and shocked another five times for good measure.
And they said hanging was brutal…
The last use of Old Sparky in the USA was on January 16, 2013, although according to
CNN, the following states still use the method: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
You can also still be gassed, shot, or hanged in some states, although lethal injection
is now the execution of choice.
So, how does it work?
Before the prisoner is sent to the chair, he or she will have their head and calfs shaved.
This is so the electrodes that are fastened to the leg and head have better contact with
the body.
The prisoner is fastened into the chair by the wrists, waist, and ankles.
They will usually be blindfolded and sometimes even be wearing a diaper- one of course loses
control of bodily functions when one is being fried by electricity.
One witness to the execution in 2007 of former Gulf War veteran and convicted child killer
Daryl Holton, explained that the prisoner was wearing a cotton prison uniform, all white.
He wrote, “The guards then performed the laborious process of placing the straps and
belts about Daryl’s body.
This took, in my estimation, perhaps as long as ten minutes.”
Wet sponges were then placed between the metal contacts and the prisoner’s skin.
This is to better conduct the charge.
The guards cleaned everything up, and at about this time, Holton started to hyperventilate
due to fear.
A metal headpiece was then put on Holton’s head which also had a wet sponge underneath
it.
Holton was asked if he wanted a blindfold, but this turned out to be something large
that more resembled a welder’s mask.
When everyone was out of the room, with witnesses watching, a loud electrical whirring was heard.
The current was applied for 15 seconds, discharging up to 2,000 volts- which should stop the heart
of the prisoner.
According to the writer, Holton then slumped over, but he was hit again with a lesser voltage
for a further 20 seconds to damage all the remaining organs that might be working.
At this point Holton’s body convulsed.
The writer concluded, “The state officials had acted with all the courtesy and care possible.
I felt for those who had to participate in this electric ritual of death.
He also said that lethal injection was still far more humane.
Does it hurt?
That’s the million-dollar question.
Most experts think, these days it would not, but in the past, when there was a malfunction,
it certainly could have hurt.
But anyway, who really knows except those who died, and they can’t tell their story.
But what actually happens to the body when it’s electrocuted like this?
Electrocution leads to paralysis of the brain's respiratory centers and stops the muscles
pumping the heart.
Sometimes the body will become very hot, even burnt, and the eyeballs can protrude.
The facial muscles will also contort as you can well imagine.
When both shocks are finished, doctors examine the body, while in the witness room, the blinds
are drawn.
Then you might hear an announcement such as this one in Tennessee, “Ladies and gentlemen,
this concludes the legal execution of Daryl Holton.
The time of death, 1:25.
Please exit.”
So, what
do you think about this form of execution, is it humane or not?
Do you believe we should have capital punishment altogether?
How would you be executed if you could have the choice?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video called How Does Lethal Injection Work?
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!