Electrocution
Seeking a more humane method of execution than hanging, New York built the first electric chair in 1888 and executed William Kemmler in 1890. Soon, other states adopted this execution method. Today, electrocution is not used as the sole method of execution in any state. Electrocution was the sole method in Nebraska until the State Supreme Court ruled the method unconstitutional in February 2008.
The inmate is shaved and strapped to a chair. A metal skullcap-shaped electrode is attached to the scalp. They are then blindfolded, and the execution team leaves the room. A jolt of between 500 and 2000 volts, which lasts for about 30 seconds, is given to the inmate. A doctor waits for the body to cool down, before he checks to see if the inmate has died. If they are still breathing another jolt is given. They keep repeating this process until the inmate is dead. The prisoner's hands often grip the chair and there may be violent movement of the limbs which can result in dislocation or fractures. The tissues swell. Defecation occurs. Steam or smoke rises and there is a smell of burning.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan once offered the following description of an execution by electric chair:
"...the prisoner's eyeballs sometimes pop out and rest on [his] cheeks. The prisoner often defecates, urinates, and vomits blood and drool. The body turns bright red as its temperature rises, and the prisoner's flesh swells and his skin stretches to the point of breaking. Sometimes the prisoner catches fire....Witnesses hear a loud and sustained sound like bacon frying, and the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh permeates the chamber."
Seeking a more humane method of execution than hanging, New York built the first electric chair in 1888 and executed William Kemmler in 1890. Soon, other states adopted this execution method. Today, electrocution is not used as the sole method of execution in any state. Electrocution was the sole method in Nebraska until the State Supreme Court ruled the method unconstitutional in February 2008.
The inmate is shaved and strapped to a chair. A metal skullcap-shaped electrode is attached to the scalp. They are then blindfolded, and the execution team leaves the room. A jolt of between 500 and 2000 volts, which lasts for about 30 seconds, is given to the inmate. A doctor waits for the body to cool down, before he checks to see if the inmate has died. If they are still breathing another jolt is given. They keep repeating this process until the inmate is dead. The prisoner's hands often grip the chair and there may be violent movement of the limbs which can result in dislocation or fractures. The tissues swell. Defecation occurs. Steam or smoke rises and there is a smell of burning.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan once offered the following description of an execution by electric chair:
"...the prisoner's eyeballs sometimes pop out and rest on [his] cheeks. The prisoner often defecates, urinates, and vomits blood and drool. The body turns bright red as its temperature rises, and the prisoner's flesh swells and his skin stretches to the point of breaking. Sometimes the prisoner catches fire....Witnesses hear a loud and sustained sound like bacon frying, and the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh permeates the chamber."