The history of the electric chair — one of the artifacts that technology has perfected specifically to kill people — is rich in curious facts. Despite its atrocious conception, for more than 130 years it has been used without pause to literally fry human beings. Invented by Harold P. Brown, an employee of Thomas Edison (who actively collaborated in its development), it was "premiered" in 1890 by William Kemmler, although before that several animals had passed through it, including an old elephant named "Topsy".
The electric chair is a killing machine. It was invented in the United States more than 130 years ago, and although its "golden age" is long past, it is still used in some states as an alternative method. It made its debut on August 26, 1890, when William Kemmler - who had murdered his lover Tillie Ziegler with an axe - sat in it expecting that more than 2000 volts would send him to the other world quickly and without pain. Unfortunately, as we will see later, these are two characteristics that the electric chair does not possess.
An electrifying history
The history of this nefarious artifact is full of curious facts and - far from what its creators proclaimed - full of failed cases. The electric chair was invented by Thomas Edison's employee named Harold P. Brown. The origin of the project is due to the resolution of a committee that met in New York in 1886 to determine a new execution system that would be more humane and replace the gallows used until then. Brown's design used alternating current that was circulated through the bodies of the condemned. A pair of electrodes, placed on the head and one limb of the victim, ensured that the electric flow circulated without problems and caused a quick, clean, and painless death.
The choice of alternating current was not - at all - a coincidence. At that time, Edison waged a real battle of ideas against Nikola Tesla. While Tesla claimed that alternating current was the best alternative for distributing electricity to all homes (something that history would confirm later), Edison insisted on using direct current. Logically, Edison did not want his electrical system to be chosen, because he feared that consumers would not want to have in their homes the same type of electric current that served to kill human beings.
Some historians completely exclude Edison from the development of this invention, while others - in the opposite extreme - argue that the famous inventor used Brown to avoid damaging his image by inventing an execution system. The truth must be somewhere in between, since - even if he did not invent it - it is difficult that Edison was not aware and collaborated with the development of his employee Brown.
To demonstrate that alternating current was more effective at killing, Brown experimented with several animals. Since he did not know if the "system" was "compatible" with any type or size of living being, he included a wide variety of guinea pigs and a circus elephant named "Topsy". Often, Brown invited press representatives to witness his tests. All these experiments were carried out in Edison's laboratory throughout (mainly) 1888. Finally, Harold's hard work was rewarded: the alternating current electric chair was approved by the committee in 1889. The following year, Kemmler would have the dubious honor of being the first human executed in it.
Kemmler's lawyers appealed, arguing that electrocution was a cruel and unusual punishment. George Westinghouse himself - a declared supporter of the use of alternating current as a standard in electricity distribution - supported his petition. However, the petition failed, partly due to Thomas Edison's support. The execution took place at Auburn Prison in New York on August 26, 1890.
The First State Electrician, Edwin Davis, checked the connections of the chair. Then, Kemmler was tied to it. The execution was horrendous. The first attempt failed, and Kemmler jumped like crazy during the 17 seconds that the attempt lasted. At the end of that period he was still alive and moaning in pain. The voltage was increased to 2000 volts, but since the generator needed time to work again, Kemmler - with a good part of his body burned - had to wait sitting. The second attempt lasted more than a minute, and the scene was described by those present as "horrifying". The smell of burnt flesh was unbearable, and smoke came out of Kemmler's head. Finally, he died. Later, Westinghouse commented ironically: "Better they had used an axe."
How does the electric chair work?
In reality, the functioning of the electric chair is quite easy to explain. The condemned is tied to a chair made of insulating material, and an electrode is placed on the head and another on one of his legs. When everything is ready, two electric shocks are applied over "several minutes", since the exact time of execution varies from person to person.
The initial voltage is about 2000 volts and serves to break the resistance of the skin and - with a bit of luck - cause unconsciousness. Then, the voltage is lowered to about 440 volts to prevent the prisoner from literally burning. A current flow of about 8 amperes is used, and the body of the condemned reaches temperatures of around 60°C. As one can imagine, death comes from the damage caused by the electric current flow to internal organs.
Theory says unconsciousness should occur in a fraction of a second. However, not a few unfortunate people have had their hair and skin begin to burn while still conscious and flailing like crazy. In one case, the transformer responsible for supplying the device's current burned out, and the prisoner had to wait (screaming in pain) on the floor of the execution room while technicians repaired it.
In 1946, the electric chair was unable to kill a convict named Willie Francis, who shouted "Stop! Let me breathe!" while being electrocuted. The reason for the failure was that a drunken assistant had installed the chair incorrectly. The case was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, since the convict's lawyers argued that their client "was executed as the judicial sentence ordered: he did not die but the sentence was still fulfilled". The argument was rejected and Francis - with a deathly scare - returned to the electric chair the following year. This time the chair did its job and the convict died as expected.
The electric chair has fallen into disuse. And it's not surprising: even in those cases where the execution is carried out correctly, some skin always burns and it is unpleasant for the guards to have to separate the burned skin from the chair's straps. The inmate, generally, loses control of his muscles after the first electric shock and may defecate or urinate. None of this gives a good image to the state, so it has gradually given way to the lethal injection.
The last time the electric chair was used was on February 21, 2020 when Nicholas Sutton, 58, was electrocuted in Tennessee for preferring this method of execution over lethal injection. Isn't that crazy?
