Wiktor Wise
The electric chair is a device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The first known person to have survived the electric chair was Willie Francis, an African-American teenager who was convicted of murder by the state of Louisiana in 1945. Francis survived a failed execution in 1946 when a portable electric chair was incorrectly set up by a prison guard and inmate. He described the experience as feeling like a hundred and a thousand needles and pins were pricking him all over. Francis was returned to the electric chair and executed in 1947. His case has been described as unfair and a violation of his constitutional rights. Since Francis, there have been other cases of people being executed by electric chair, with the most recent taking place in 2020.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the survivor | Willie Francis |
| Age | 16 |
| Year of survival | 1945 |
| State | Louisiana |
| Country | United States |
| Reason for conviction | Murder of Andrew Thomas |
| Age at execution | 18 |
| Year of execution | 1947 |
| Date of execution | May 9, 1947 |
| Known for | Surviving a failed execution by electrocution |
| Description of experience | Felt like "a hundred and a thousand needles and pins were pricking [...] all over" |
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What You'll Learn
- Willie Francis, the first person to survive the electric chair
- The electric chair was conceived as a humane alternative to hanging
- The sensation of being electrocuted, as described by Willie Francis
- Lynda Lyon Block, the last person to be executed by electric chair without the choice of an alternative method
- The electric chair's decline with the adoption of lethal injection
Willie Francis, the first person to survive the electric chair
On May 3, 1946, 17-year-old Willie Francis was strapped into "Gruesome Gertie", the portable electric chair, in Louisiana State Penitentiary. The switch was flipped, sending a surge of electricity through his body. But Willie did not die. He writhed in agony, shouting, "Take it off! Take it off! Let me breathe!". The execution was botched, and Willie Francis had miraculously survived.
Willie, a young Black teenager, lived in the racially segregated town of St. Martinville, Louisiana. He worked odd jobs, one being for Andrew Thomas, the local drugstore owner. Thomas was found dead in his home, shot multiple times, and the murder remained unsolved for nine months. In August 1945, Willie was detained in Texas on suspicion of drug trafficking, and he confessed to Thomas' murder, writing, "It was a secret about me and him." However, he pleaded not guilty at the trial and was convicted and sentenced to death just two days into the trial.
Willie's attorney, Bertrand DeBlanc, took on his case after the botched execution, arguing that it was unjust and that it would be cruel and unusual punishment, as prohibited in the Constitution, to subject him to another execution attempt. The legal battle went all the way to the US Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled against Willie. The ensuing legal battle raised important questions about double jeopardy and the humanity of electrocution as a form of execution.
On May 9, 1947, Willie Francis was returned to the electric chair and was pronounced dead at 12:10 p.m. Ernest Gaines' 1993 novel, "A Lesson Before Dying", was partly based on the Willie Francis case, telling the story of a young Black man facing execution in 1940s Louisiana.
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The electric chair was conceived as a humane alternative to hanging
The electric chair is a device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The method was conceived by New York dentist Alfred P. Southwick in 1881, following the spread of arc lighting and several stories in newspapers about how the high voltages used were killing people. The electric chair was developed over the next decade as a more humane alternative to hanging, which was a common form of execution at the time.
The chair was first used for execution in 1890 and became a symbolic figure of capital punishment in the United States. The condemned person is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. It was initially believed that death was caused by cerebral damage, but it was later discovered in 1899 that death primarily occurs due to ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest.
Despite the intention to provide a more humane form of execution, the electric chair has been criticised as being inhumane and cruel. In one case, the US Supreme Court stated that electrocution could not instantaneously or painlessly kill an inmate, and that even if an inmate survived for a short time, they would suffer the experience of being burned alive. This ruling contributed to an injunction against the use of the electric chair and firing squads for executions.
One notable case involving the electric chair is that of Willie Francis, an American teenager who survived a failed execution in 1945 due to a malfunction. Francis described the experience as feeling like "a hundred and a thousand needles and pins" were pricking him all over, and his left leg felt like it was being cut with a razor blade. Despite his appeals, Francis was executed in 1947 at the age of 18.
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The sensation of being electrocuted, as described by Willie Francis
Willie Francis, the "teenager who was executed twice", survived a failed execution by electrocution in 1945. He was initially sentenced to death at age 16 by the state of Louisiana for the murder of Andrew Thomas, a pharmacy owner in St. Martinville who had once employed Francis.
Francis gave a unique insight into what it felt like to be electrocuted, saying:
> The best way I can describe it is: Whamm! Zst! It felt like a hundred and a thousand needles and pins were pricking in me all over and my left leg felt like somebody was cutting it with a razor blade. I could feel my arms jumping at my sides ... I thought for a minute I was going to knock the chair over ... I think I must have hollered for them to stop. They say I said, 'Take it off! Take it off!' I know that was certainly what I wanted them to do—turn it off.
Witnesses of the botched execution reported hearing the teenager scream from behind the leather hood, "Take it off! Take it off! Let me breathe!" as the supposedly lethal surge of electricity was being applied. The portable electric chair, known as "Gruesome Gertie", was found to have been improperly set up by an intoxicated prison guard and inmate.
After the failed execution, Francis's attorney Bertrand DeBlanc attempted to have his murder conviction overturned, citing new evidence and deep flaws in Francis's trial. However, Francis did not want a second trial and was returned to the electric chair in 1947, where he was pronounced dead at 12:10 p.m. (Central Time).
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Lynda Lyon Block, the last person to be executed by electric chair without the choice of an alternative method
Lynda Lyon Block was the last person to be executed by electric chair without the choice of an alternative method. She was convicted of killing Opelika Police Sergeant Roger Motley in 1993. Block and her companion, George Sibley, were part of an anti-government movement and had renounced their US citizenship, destroying their official documents. They also refused to recognise the jurisdiction of the Alabama courts.
On the day of the crime, a passerby noticed Block's nine-year-old son in a parked car and expressed concern to Sergeant Motley, who approached the vehicle. Sibley drew his gun and fired at Motley, who returned fire, wounding Sibley. Block, who was at a payphone, drew her gun and joined the shootout, ultimately firing the shot that killed Motley. Both Block and Sibley were sentenced to death, partly because forensics experts couldn't determine who fired the fatal shot.
Block entered Alabama's death row on December 21, 1994, and was held at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama. She was executed on May 10, 2002, at the Holman Correctional Facility near Atmore, Alabama. She declined to make a final statement and did not request a last meal. At midnight, she was strapped into the electric chair, and at 12:01 a.m., the current was turned on. She was pronounced dead at 12:10 a.m.
Witnesses to the execution reported seeing Block's body tense, and steam rise from the sponge on her head and the electrode on her left leg. Block's execution was a significant event, as Alabama was replacing electrocution as its favoured means of capital punishment, making her the last person to be executed by electric chair without a choice.
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The electric chair's decline with the adoption of lethal injection
The electric chair was initially thought to cause death through cerebral damage, but it was later scientifically established that death primarily occurs from ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest. Despite its historical significance in American capital punishment, electric chair use has declined with the adoption of lethal injection, which is perceived as more humane. Lethal injection gained popularity due to its resemblance to a medical procedure, projecting a modern approach to delivering death. The three-drug combination of sodium thiopental, vercuronium bromide, and potassium chloride has an unparalleled record of seemingly painless deaths.
However, the electric chair is still an option for executions in some states. As of 2024, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee still reserve the electric chair as an option for execution. In Tennessee, inmates have chosen the electric chair over lethal injection due to fears of feeling intense discomfort while the lethal injection drugs work. In 2019, 63-year-old convicted killer Edmund George Zagorski chose the electric chair, seeking electrocution instead of lethal injection as "the lesser of two evils."
The use of the electric chair has declined since the advent of lethal injection in 1979, which is now the default method in most U.S. jurisdictions authorizing capital punishment. Lethal injection is now the sole execution method in most states, with electrocution sometimes offered as a secondary option based on the condemned person's preference. For example, in Indiana, the electric chair was replaced in 1995 with lethal injection as the state's sole execution method. Similarly, the Philippines also replaced the electric chair with lethal injection when executions resumed in the country.
While the electric chair has declined with the adoption of lethal injection, some inmates still view electrocution as the more humane option. Lethal injection has been associated with botched procedures that have left inmates writhing in agony, and medical experts argue that the procedures torture condemned inmates. In contrast, the electric chair was initially adopted as an attempt to make capital punishment in America more palatable, and it was believed to be less painful and more humane than hanging. However, a series of botched electrocutions led to questions about its use, with some executions in Florida going haywire and resulting in grotesque outcomes.
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Frequently asked questions
At least one: Willie Francis, who survived his first execution attempt in 1945 due to a malfunction, but was killed in a second attempt in 1947.
Willie Francis was sentenced to death by the state of Louisiana for the murder of Andrew Thomas, a pharmacy owner in St. Martinville. He was 15 years old at the time of the murder and 16 when he was sentenced to death.
Francis described the sensation of being electrocuted as feeling like "a hundred and a thousand needles and pins were pricking [him] all over" and that his "left leg felt like somebody was cutting it with a razor blade".
