Otis Singleton
The electric chair is a method of execution in which a person is strapped to a chair and a metal skullcap-shaped electrode is attached to their scalp and forehead. The voltage of the electric chair has varied throughout its history, with the first execution in 1890 using a charge of around 700 volts, followed by a second charge of 1,030 volts. In 1891, the Tesla coil was created, allowing for high-voltage, low-currency electrical resonant transformers. Today, the electric chair is considered outdated, with Tennessee being the only state to have used it since 2013, administering two cycles of 1,750 volts of electricity.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of volts | Between 500 and 2000 volts |
| Number of cycles | Two cycles of 1,750 volts of electricity |
| Duration | Around 30 seconds |
| Electrode temperature | Around 50 °C |
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What You'll Learn
The first electric chair execution was in 1890
The electric chair is a device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The method was conceived in 1881 by Buffalo, New York dentist Alfred P. Southwick as a more humane alternative to hanging. In 1886, a commission was set up by New York State Governor David B. Hill to investigate a more humane means of execution.
In 1889, New York's Electrical Execution Law came into effect, and Edwin R. Davis, the Auburn Prison electrician, was commissioned to design an electric chair. The chair was fitted with two electrodes, composed of metal disks held together with rubber and covered with a damp sponge. The electrodes were applied to the head and back of the condemned.
On August 6, 1890, William Kemmler, a German-American street pedlar, became the first person to be executed by the electric chair. Kemmler was convicted of murdering his lover, Matilda Ziegler, with an axe. He was strapped to the chair, and a charge of approximately 1,000 volts was delivered for 17 seconds. This caused unconsciousness but failed to stop his heart and breathing. After a short delay, Kemmler received a second charge of 2,000 volts for about two minutes. Smoke was observed coming from Kemmler's head, and witnesses reported that his body had caught fire. The entire execution took about eight minutes.
Following Kemmler's execution, George Westinghouse commented, "They would have done better using an axe", and The New York Times ran the headline: "Far worse than hanging". Despite this, the electric chair became a prevalent method of execution in the United States, with Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia adopting it by 1908.
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William Kemmler was the first person executed
On August 6, 1890, William Kemmler became the first person to be executed by the electric chair. He was convicted of murdering his common-law wife, Matilda "Tillie" Ziegler, a year earlier.
Kemmler's execution was a public spectacle, and it did not go as planned. Witnesses reported that the execution was incredibly gory, with Kemmler's skin entirely charred, and his body catching fire. The execution chamber was filled with the smell of burning flesh, and two of the witnesses fainted.
The electric chair was invented in 1881 by Buffalo, New York dentist Alfred Southwick. The idea for the electric chair came about after a series of accidents involving high-voltage arc lighting, which killed people almost instantaneously. The execution of Kemmler was the culmination of the "war of currents" between George Westinghouse, the largest supplier of alternating current equipment, and Thomas Edison, whose company ran on direct current.
During Kemmler's execution, the generator was initially charged with 1,000 volts of electricity, which was thought to be enough to induce quick unconsciousness and cardiac arrest. However, after 17 seconds, Kemmler was still alive, and he was electrocuted again with 2,000 volts, which finally killed him. The entire execution took about eight minutes.
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Kemmler received two shocks of 700 and 1030 volts
On August 6, 1890, William Kemmler became the first person to be executed by the electric chair. He was convicted of murdering his lover, Matilda Ziegler, with an axe.
The entire execution took about eight minutes. Some witnesses reported that Kemmler's body caught fire. The attending physicians, Edward Charles Spitzka and Carlos Frederick MacDonald, examined Kemmler and confirmed he was still alive after the first shock. Spitzka reportedly called out, "Have the current turned on again, quick, no delay."
The electric chair was adopted by several states in the years following Kemmler's execution, including Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia. It became the prevalent method of execution in the United States, replacing hanging.
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Tennessee uses two cycles of 1750 volts
The use of the electric chair as a means of execution has been largely phased out in the United States. No state has used it as an execution method since 2013. However, Tennessee is an exception to this trend, having executed Nicholas Todd Sutton on February 20, 2020.
In Tennessee, inmates are offered the choice between lethal injection and the electric chair. Since 2018, five inmates, including Sutton, have opted for the latter. This choice has been attributed to fears of being frozen in place and experiencing intense discomfort during lethal injection.
Tennessee's electric chair procedure involves administering two cycles of 1,750 volts of electricity. This is a lower voltage than the first electric chair, which delivered approximately 700 volts for 17 seconds in 1890, followed by 1,030 volts for two minutes.
The electric chair has been criticised as an inhumane method of execution. In 2008, the Supreme Court of Nebraska ruled it unconstitutional. The court stated that electrocution could not instantaneously or painlessly kill an inmate, and that even if death occurred within 15 or 30 seconds, the individual would suffer the experience of being burned alive.
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The electric chair is considered outdated
The electric chair was conceived in 1881 as a more humane alternative to hanging. The first electric chair was built in 1888, and the first execution was carried out in 1890. The electric chair became the prevalent method of execution in the United States, with several states adopting it.
The process of execution involves strapping the condemned person to a chair and passing cycles of alternating current through their body to cause lethal damage to the internal organs. The first shock, ranging from 2,000 to 2,500 volts, is intended to induce unconsciousness, ventricular fibrillation, and cardiac arrest. However, the electric chair has been criticised for being inhumane, with some executions resulting in the prisoner's body catching fire or experiencing violent limb movements.
In recent years, the use of the electric chair has declined significantly. The last judicial electrocution in the US before Furman v. Georgia took place in 1966, and while the electric chair was frequently used in the 1980s, its use gradually declined in the 1990s with the advent of lethal injection. Lethal injection is now the default method in most US jurisdictions authorising capital punishment. As of 2024, only a few states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Tennessee, still offer the electric chair as an option for execution, and even in these states, it is often a secondary choice based on the prisoner's preference.
The electric chair is now considered outdated, with national sentiment shifting towards lethal injection as a calmer and less violent alternative. The electric chair has been deemed "`cruel and unusual punishment'" by some courts, and public opinion has also turned against it. For example, in 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that electrocution was unconstitutional, and Indiana replaced its electric chair with lethal injection as the sole execution method in 1995.
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Frequently asked questions
The electric chair uses a jolt of between 500 and 2000 volts of electricity, which lasts for about 30 seconds.
The first execution by electric chair was carried out on August 6, 1890, when William Kemmler was put to death. The electric chair was adopted by Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia, and soon became the prevalent method of execution in the United States, replacing hanging.
The condemned inmate's head and legs are shaved and they are strapped to a chair with belts. A metal skullcap-shaped electrode is attached to the scalp and forehead over a sponge moistened with saline. An additional electrode is moistened with conductive jelly and attached to a portion of the prisoner's leg. The prisoner is then blindfolded.
In recent years, lethal injection has been used as an alternative method of execution. However, botched procedures have left inmates writhing in agony.
