Until recently, execution by electric chair was considered one of the most humane ways of killing criminals. However, over the years of application, it turned out that this type of execution is by no means completely painless, but on the contrary, it can cause terrible torment to the convict. What can happen to a person caught in the electric chair?
The history of the electric chair
Criminals began to be electrocuted in the late 19th century, when proponents of a "progressive" society decided that previously existing forms of execution, such as burning at the stake, hanging and beheading, were inhumane. From their point of view, the criminal should not suffer additional suffering during the execution process: after all, the most precious thing - his life - is already being taken from him.
It is believed that the first model of an electric chair was invented in 1888 by Harold Brown, who worked for Thomas Edison's company. According to other sources, dentist Albert Southwick became the inventor of the electric chair.
The essence of the execution is as follows. The convict is shaved baldly on the top of the head and the back of the leg. Then the torso and arms are tied tightly with straps to a chair made of dielectric with a high back and armrests. The legs are secured with special clips. At first, the criminals were blindfolded, then they began to put on a hood over their heads, and more recently - a special mask. One electrode is attached to the head, on which the helmet is put on, the other to the leg. The executioner turns on the button of the switch, which passes through the body an alternating current of up to 5 amperes and a voltage of 1700 to 2400 volts. Execution usually takes about two minutes. Two discharges are given, each turns on for one minute, the break between them is 10 seconds. Death, which should occur from cardiac arrest, must be recorded by a doctor.
For the first time, this method of execution was applied on August 6, 1890 in the Auburn prison of the American state of New York to William Kemmler, who was convicted of the murder of his mistress Tilly Seigler.
Until now, more than 4 thousand people have been executed in the United States in this way. Also, a similar type of execution was used in the Philippines. The communist spouses Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who worked for Soviet intelligence, ended their lives in the electric chair.
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"False humane" procedure
It was assumed that when an electric current is passed through the body, a person will die immediately. But this did not always happen. Often, eyewitnesses had to observe how people, put on an electric chair, fought in convulsions, bite their tongues, foam, blood came out of their mouths, their eyes crawled out of their sockets, involuntary emptying of the intestines and bladder occurred. Some of them uttered piercing cries during the execution … Almost always, after the discharge of a discharge from the skin and hair of the convict, a light smoke began to go. There were also recorded cases when a person sitting in an electric chair caught fire and exploded his head. Quite often, the burnt skin "stuck" to the seat belts and seat. The bodies of those executed were, as a rule, so hot that it was impossible to touch them,and then for a long time the "aroma" of burnt human flesh soared in the room.
One of the protocols describes an episode when a convict was exposed to a discharge of 2450 volts for 15 seconds, but a quarter of an hour after the procedure, he was still alive. As a result, the execution had to be repeated three more times, until the criminal finally died. The last time his eyeballs melted.
In 1985, in Indiana, William Vandivere was electrocuted five times. It took 17 minutes to kill him.
According to experts, when exposed to such high voltage, the human body, including the brain and other internal organs, is literally roasted alive. Even if death occurs quickly enough, then at least a person feels a strong muscle spasm throughout the body, as well as acute pain in the places of contact with the skin of the electrodes. After this, loss of consciousness usually occurs. Here are the recollections of one survivor: “My mouth tasted like cold peanut butter. I felt my head and left leg burning, so I tried with all my might to free myself from the bonds. " Willie Francis, 17, who got into the electric chair in 1947, shouted, “Shut it down! Let me breathe!"
Repeatedly the execution became painful as a result of various failures and malfunctions. For example, on May 4, 1990, when the criminal Jesse D. Tafero was executed, a synthetic pad under the helmet caught fire, and the convict received third-fourth degree burns. A similar thing happened on March 25, 1997 with Pedro Medina. In both cases, the current had to be switched on several times. In total, the execution procedure took 6-7 minutes, so it could not be called quick and painless.
The story of the murderer of the whole family, Allen Lee Davis, who, before the execution, had a leather tape taped not only to his mouth (instead of a gag), but also to his nose, caused a great resonance. As a result, he suffocated.
Stool or injection?
Over time, it became clear that "humane" execution is in fact often a painful torture, and its use was limited. True, some people believe that the point here is not at all in humanity, but in the high cost of the procedure.
Currently, the electric chair is used only in six American states - Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Moreover, the convict is offered a choice - an electric chair or a lethal injection. The aforementioned measure was last applied on January 16, 2013 in Virginia to Robert Gleeson, who deliberately killed two of his cellmates so that life imprisonment was commuted to his death sentence.
In addition, in the United States there is a law: if after the third category the sentenced survives, then he receives pardon: they say, this means that this is the will of God …
Irina Shlionskaya