Molly Ayala
The electric chair was first used for execution in the state of New York in 1890. The condemned was William Kemmler, a German-American street pedlar who had murdered the woman he lived with in a drunken rage. The chair was designed by George Fell and built by Edwin F. Davis, New York's first state electrician (executioner). The electric chair was conceived by New York dentist Alfred P. Southwick in 1881, who lobbied for electrocution as a more humane form of capital punishment than hanging.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First state to build the electric chair | New York |
| Date of first execution | August 6, 1890 |
| Person first executed by the electric chair | William Kemmler |
| Person who carried out the execution | Edwin Davis, the first "state electrician" |
| Inventor of the electric chair | Thomas Alva Edison |
| Place of execution | Auburn Prison in New York State |
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What You'll Learn
- New York was the first state to execute someone by electric chair
- The first execution was carried out by Edwin F. Davis, the first state electrician
- The electric chair was conceived by New York dentist Alfred P. Southwick in 1881
- The chair was built at Thomas Edison's laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey
- The first person to be executed was William Kemmler, a convicted murderer
New York was the first state to execute someone by electric chair
The electric chair was conceived by New York dentist Alfred P. Southwick in 1881. It was developed over the following decade as a more humane alternative to hanging. In 1886, New York State governor David B. Hill set up a three-member death penalty commission, which included Southwick, to find a more humane form of execution. The commission recommended electrocution using Southwick's electric chair idea, and the first law allowing the use of electrocution went into effect in New York State on January 1, 1889.
The electric chair was built by Edwin F. Davis, New York's first "state electrician" (executioner). The chair was made of oak and had electrodes attached to the head and middle of the back. The execution of Kemmler did not go as planned, however. After an initial 17-second passage of 1,000 volts AC through his body, Kemmler was unconscious but still alive. The generator needed time to recharge, and in the second attempt, Kemmler received a 2,000-volt shock. His skin began to bleed, parts of his body were singed, and witnesses reported that his body caught fire. The entire execution took about eight minutes.
Despite the botched execution, the idea of the electric chair was soon adopted across many states. The electric chair remained the most prominent execution method until the early 1990s when it was downgraded to a backup method that inmates could choose.
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The first execution was carried out by Edwin F. Davis, the first state electrician
The electric chair was invented in the late 1880s by employees at Thomas Edison's laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey. The first state to adopt this method of execution was New York. The chair was built by Edwin F. Davis, who also held patents on certain features of the chair. Davis was New York's first "state electrician", an official title given to some American state executioners in states that used the electric chair. The persons appointed were electricians by trade, but the title itself did not indicate the true responsibilities of the position.
The first execution was carried out by Edwin F. Davis on August 6, 1890. The condemned was William Kemmler, a street pedlar who had killed a woman he lived with in a drunken rage. The execution took place in Auburn Prison in New York State. Kemmler was awakened at five o'clock in the morning and dressed in a suit, white shirt, and tie. He ate breakfast and said his prayers before his head was shaved. At 6:38 am, he entered the execution chamber and addressed the assembled witnesses: "Gentlemen, I wish you all good luck. I believe I am going to a good place and I am ready to go."
Kemmler was strapped into the chair, which had been tested on a horse the previous day. The generator was charged with 1,000 volts and the current was passed through Kemmler's body for 17 seconds. He was unconscious, but still breathing. The attending physicians, Edward Charles Spitzka and Carlos Frederick MacDonald, examined Kemmler and confirmed that he was still alive. Spitzka called out, "Have the current turned on again, quick, no delay." However, the generator needed time to recharge. In the second attempt, Kemmler received a 2,000-volt shock. Blood vessels under his skin ruptured and bled, and the areas around the electrodes were singed. Some witnesses reported that his body caught fire. The entire execution took about eight minutes.
Edwin F. Davis carried out at least two executions, the other being that of Martha M. Place, the first woman to be legally electrocuted. He also trained two of his successors, including Edwin B. Currier, who carried out at least one execution in New York and performed Nebraska's first two electrocutions in 1920.
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The electric chair was conceived by New York dentist Alfred P. Southwick in 1881
In 1886, the newly elected New York governor, David B. Hill, set up a three-member death penalty commission to find a more humane form of execution. Southwick was appointed to this commission in the late 1880s. The committee included human rights advocate and reformer Elbridge Thomas Gerry, and New York lawyer and politician Matthew Hale. They explored many forms of execution and recommended electrocution using Southwick's electric-chair idea with metal conductors attached to the condemned person's head and feet.
Southwick sought advice from Thomas Edison, whose electrical company championed Direct Current (DC). Edison was a member of the commission and was locked in a ruthless competition with George Westinghouse to make electricity widely available. Edison wanted to see capital punishment abolished altogether in the US, but he thought electrocution would be quicker and less painful than hanging. He secretly arranged for a chair to be built, powered by Westinghouse's Alternating Current (AC), to scare people into thinking it was more dangerous.
The first electric chair was built by Edwin F. Davis, the first "state electrician" (executioner) for the State of New York. The first person to be executed by electric chair was William Kemmler, a convicted murderer, on August 6, 1890. The execution did not go well and was a gruesome affair. However, the electric chair continued to be used in New York until 1963 when it was deemed "cruel and unusual punishment" by state courts.
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The chair was built at Thomas Edison's laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey
The electric chair was first used for execution in 1890, in New York State. It was built at Thomas Edison's laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, by employees of Edison's works. Edison, who wanted capital punishment to be abolished in the US, believed that death by electrocution would be quicker and less painful than hanging.
The chair was constructed in the late 1880s, after Edison was consulted by Dr Alfred P Southwick, a Buffalo, New York dentist. Southwick had witnessed a fatal accidental electrocution in 1881 and subsequently began experimenting on animals. He modified a dentist's chair and lobbied for electrocution as a humane form of capital punishment.
In 1886, Southwick was appointed to a commission organised by New York State Governor David B Hill, tasked with finding a more humane form of execution. The commission recommended electrocution using Southwick's electric-chair idea. The first law allowing the use of electrocution went into effect in New York State on January 1, 1889.
The chair was built by the state's first executioner, Edwin F. Davis, who was also known as the "state electrician". It was a simple oak chair designed by George Fell, who went against the Medico-Legal Society's recommendations by placing the electrodes on the head and the middle of the back.
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The first person to be executed was William Kemmler, a convicted murderer
The electric chair was invented in the late 1880s by employees at Thomas Edison's laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey. It was designed as a more humane alternative to hanging, which was the primary method of execution at the time.
The first person to be executed by electric chair was William Kemmler, a convicted murderer. On August 6, 1890, Kemmler was executed in New York's Auburn Prison. He had been convicted of killing the woman he lived with in a drunken rage.
Kemmler's execution did not go as planned. The first attempt to electrocute him used 1,000 volts of electricity and lasted for 17 seconds, causing him to lose consciousness but failing to stop his heart and breathing. The executioners then delivered a second shock of 2,000 volts, which caused Kemmler's skin to rupture and bleed, and his body caught on fire. The entire execution took about eight minutes.
Witnesses and reporters described the execution as a "'historic bungle' and 'disgusting, sickening, and inhuman'. The New York Times ran the headline: "Far worse than hanging". Despite this, the electric chair was soon adopted as a method of execution in several other states.
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Frequently asked questions
New York.
William Kemmler, a German-American street pedlar who had killed a woman he lived with in a drunken rage.
6 August 1890.
The first attempt to execute Kemmler involved passing 1,000 volts of electricity through his body for 17 seconds. This failed to stop his heart and he remained conscious. A second attempt was made with 2,000 volts, which caused his skin to bleed and parts of his body to singe. The entire execution took about eight minutes.
The electric chair was invented by employees at Thomas Edison's works in West Orange, New Jersey. Edison wanted to see capital punishment abolished in the US but thought electrocution would be quicker and less painful than hanging.
