Synopsis

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ABSTRACT


In this presentation we discuss about the Electric chair, a device used in execution by
electrocution, originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a
specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body. Over the
years, the Electric chair has gained a reputation of being one of the most widely used
methods of execution in U.S.
Proposed in 1881 by Alfred Southwick, the method was developed as a substitute for
Hanging, which was the method of execution at that time in the States. It soon gained
recognition all over the country, which led to Harold Brown and Arthur Kennelly, employees
of Thomas Edison, producing the 1
st
electric chair in mid 1880’s.
“The War of Currents” between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse was at its full
swing at the time and it played a huge role in AC being used for executions by the electric
chair.
The Electric Chair is an interesting yet complex device, coupled with a heavy circuitry
consisting of a generator, a transformer and timing/control circuitry. On top of that, a special
helmet, electrodes, sponges and salt water are used to successfully complete the required
component list.
It works on the most basic principle in Electronics- Voltage divided by resistance gives
current. Here, the convicts body acts as the resistor through which a voltage of 2000-2200V
is passed, producing enough current to damage the internal organs including the brain and
heart. It’s followed by a cardiac arrest which leads to death.
The sponge can be considered as the most important factor in an electrocution system due to
reasons we’ll discuss in the presentation itself. The Electric chair has a notorious legacy due
to it being a method which can lead to a severely agonizing pain for the subject, if the chair
has not been properly set up. There have been several instances throughout the 20
th
century
where the execution went horribly wrong, leading to either the transformer getting burnt, or
the subject’s head itself! Due to these reasons, electric chair has been banned in a no. of
states, and replaced by ‘Lethal injection’, another modern method of execution.

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INDEX

Title Page No.


1. Introduction 3
2. History 5
3. Description 7
A. Medical description. 7
B. System description 8
C. Power supply 8
D. Control console 8
E. Electric chair 8
F. Specifications 9
4. Set up 9
5. Procedure ` 11
6. Block diagram 12
7. Map of usage 15
8. Sponge: The most important factor 16
9. War of currents 17
10. The photograph that made Tom Howard an overnight celebrity 18
11. Lethal injection: A modern alternative 19
12. Conclusion 20
13. References 21

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1. INTRODUCTION

Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method
created in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built
wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body. This execution method
was created by employees of Thomas Edison during the War of Currents, and has been used
only in the United States and, for a period of several decades, in the Philippines[1].
Historically, once the condemned person was attached to the chair, various cycles (differing
in voltage and duration) of AC would be passed through the individual's body, in order to
cause fatal damage to the internal organs (including the brain). The first jolt of electric
current was designed to cause immediate unconsciousness and brain death, the second one
was designed to cause fatal damage to the vital organs. Death was frequently caused by
electrical overstimulation of the heart[1].


Fig. 1: An African-American prisoner is prepared for execution in Sing-Sing Prison in
1900.

Although in the United States the electric chair has become a symbol of the death penalty, its
use is in decline due to the rise of lethal injection, which is widely believed to be a more
humane method of execution. Although some states still maintain electrocution as a method
of execution, today it is only maintained as a secondary method that may be chosen over
lethal injection at the request of the prisoner. In the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, the
electric chair has been retired except for those whose capital crimes were committed prior to

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legislated dates in 1998 (Kentucky: March 31, 1998; Tennessee: December 31, 1998) and
who chose electrocution. In both states, inmates who do not choose electrocution or inmates
who committed their crimes after the designated date are given the lethal injection. The
electric chair is an alternate form of execution approved for potential use in Arkansas and
Oklahoma if other forms of execution are found unconstitutional in the state at the time of
execution. It is the sole method of execution in Vermont, where treason is the only capital
crime. On February 8, 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court determined that execution by
electric chair was a "cruel and unusual punishment" under the state's constitution. This
brought executions of this type to an end in Nebraska, the only remaining state to retain
electrocution as its sole method of execution for murder[3].

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2. HISTORY




Fig. 2: Old Sparky, the electric chair used at Sing Sing prison.


In 1881, the state of New York established a committee to determine a new, more humane
method of execution to replace Hanging. Alfred Southwick, a member of the committee,
developed the idea of running electric current through a condemned man after hearing a case
of how relatively painlessly and quickly a drunk man died due to touching exposed power
lines. As Southwick was a dentist accustomed to performing procedures on subjects in chairs,
his electrical device appeared in the form of a chair to restrain the inmate while being
electrocuted.
The first electric chair was produced by Harold Brown and Arthur Kennelly. Brown worked
as an employee of Thomas Edison, hired for the purpose of researching electrocution and
developing the electric chair. Kennelly, Edison's chief engineer at the West Orange facility
was assigned to work with Brown on the project. Since Brown and Kennelly worked for
Edison and Edison promoted their work, the development of the electric chair is often
erroneously credited to Edison himself[2].
Brown intended to use alternating current(AC), then emerging as a potent rival to direct
current(DC), which was further along in commercial development.

The decision to use AC
was partly driven by Edison's claim that AC was more lethal than DC.
To prove the danger of AC electricity and its suitability for executions, Brown and Edison
publicly killed many animals with AC for the press in hopes of associating alternating current
with electrical death in the midst of the current wars with George Westinghouse. It was at
these events that the term "electrocution" was coined. The term "electrocution" originally
referred only to electrical execution, and not to accidental electrical deaths. However, since
no English word was available for the latter process, the word "electrocution" eventually took

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over as a description of all circumstances of electrical death with the new rise of commercial
electricity. Most of their experiments were conducted at Edison's West Orange, New Jersey
laboratory in 1888. The demonstrations of electrocution apparently had their intended effects,
and the committee adopted the AC electric chair in 1889[3].
First executions


Fig. 3: William Kemmler
The first person to be executed by the electric chair was William Kemmler in New York's
Auburn Prison on August 6, 1890; the "state electrician" was Edwin Davis. The first 17-
second passage of current through Kemmler caused unconsciousness, but failed to stop his
heart and breathing. The attending physicians, Edward Charles Spitzka and Charles F.
Macdonald, came forward to examine Kemmler. After confirming Kemmler was still alive,
Spitzka reportedly called out, "Have the current turned on again, quick, no delay." The
generator needed time to re-charge, however. In the second attempt, Kemmler was shocked
with 2,000 volts. Blood vessels under the skin ruptured and bled, and the areas around the
electrodes singed. The entire execution took about eight minutes. George Westinghouse later
commented that "they would have done better using an axe, and a witnessing reporter
claimed that it was "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging. The first woman to be
executed in the electric chair was Martha M. Place, executed at Sing Sing Prison on March
20, 1899[4].

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3. DESCRIPTION




A. MEDICAL DESCRIPTION
During electrocution there are two factors that must be considered: the conscious and the
autonomic nervous systems. Voltages in excess of 1500 volts ac are generally sufficient to
destroy the conscious nervous system, that which controls pain and understanding. Generally,
unconsciousness occurs in 4.16 milliseconds, which is 1/240 part of a second. This is twenty-
four times as fast as the subjects conscious nervous system can record pain. The autonomic
nervous system is a little more difficult, however, and generally requires in excess of 2000
volts ac to seize the pacemaker in the subjects heart. Generally, we compute the voltage at
2000 volts ac plus 20%. After the voltage is applied and the subjects body saturates, the
voltage has dropped about 10% (depending upon the resistance of the electrode contacts and
that of the subject body) and this should be taken into consideration, as well. Current should
be kept under six (6) amperes to minimize body damage (cooking)[4].
Ideally, the voltage is calculated thus:
The average man weighing 70 kilos (154 lbs.) requires 2000 volts ac to seize the heart.
Increase the voltage by 20% to accommodate subjects with greater resistance.
2000 volts ac plus 20% equals 2400 volts ac.
Increase voltage by 10% for drop at saturation.

2400 volts ac plus 10% equals 2640 volts ac.
Thus, the voltage should be 2640 volts ac.
This 2640 volts ac should be applied in two jolts of one minute each, spaced at a ten second
interval. On occasion, the subject’s heart will spasm, instead of seizing, during the first
application of current and the application of the second jolt will generally eliminate this
problem. This spasm is due to excessive chemical build-up (acetylcholine and sympathin) at
the nerve junctions and the ten second wait generally allows for dissipation of the
chemicals[5].

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B. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
The system is designed with plug-in components for ease in repair and maintenance, and
because of its modular design can be installed in very little time by untrained personnel.
The control system is designed for a timing sequence which will deliver 2 one minute jolts at
minimum of 2400 volts ac spaced ten seconds apart.
The high voltage circuitry is designed to deliver 2640 volts ac upon activation and, as the
load saturates and the current increases, the voltage stabilizes at (or above) 2400 volts ac. The
current is limited to five amperes, maximum, by a current regulator. The voltage, in
accordance with the standard formula for admittance, will drop approximately 10% or 240
volts, but the current will never exceed five amperes. A current limiting breaker protects the
load in the event of a regulator failure and will open the circuit at six amperes[6].

C. POWER SUPPLY
The power supply consists of a 208 volt ac primary, 2640 volt as secondary transformer
coupled to a saturable reactor.
It is designed to deliver five amperes at 2400 volts ac, plus 10% (240 volts ac). This means
that when the circuit is closed, 2640 volts ac is fed into the load. As the load saturates, the
current increases and the voltage drops. The current regulator limits the current to five
amperes at the saturation voltage point of 2400 (minimum) volts ac[6].

D. THE CONTROL CONSOLE
The control console is a sloped metal panel cabinet containing the timing circuitry, computer
controlled switching circuitry and controls for the system operation. All the switching
operation is done using the control console.
The console is switched ON by inserting a key into one of the slots and opening the main
lock of the console. Precaution should be taken while inserting the key and the mains should
be strictly kept OFF while starting the control console.
The timing sequence is accomplished with two solid-state,1 minute timers and one 10 second
timer cascaded from a system's timer of 130 seconds, guaranteeing system shutdown after
130 seconds even in the event of a sequential timer failure[7].

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E. THE ELECTRIC CHAIR
The electric chair consists of an oaken chair with an adjustable backrest, inherent leg
electrodes, a leather and sponge helmet with electrode, and a plexiglass seat. It is covered
with a high gloss epoxy paint similar to that which is used in the space program. The ankle
electrodes, which are fabricated onto the leg stock, are turned of solid brass. They
accommodate a conductor and are paralleled to ground. The helmet consists of an outer
helmet of leather and an inner helmet of copper mesh and sponge. The straps are of nylon
aircraft construction and consist of two ankle straps, two wrist straps and one cross-the- chest
harness, all with quick release fasteners. The entire system, because of its modular design,
may be installed by non-technical people in several hours and is fully field repairable[7].

Fig. 4: An electric chair with its supply system on the right

F. SPECIFICATIONS
Power Supply
Voltage: 208 volts ac in, 2400 volts ac plus 10% or 2640 volts ac out.
Current: five (5) amperes at 1% regulation.
Overcurrent protection: six (6) amperes.
Transformer: Primary-208 volts ac, 68 amps, Secondary-2640 volts ac, 5 amps.
Saturable reactor: 75 amp, 15 KVA.

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Control Console
Voltage: 110 volts ac.
Overcurrent protection: one ampere; three amperes.
Electric Chair
Material: oak.
Electrodes: all turned of solid brass, two leg, one helmet.
Helmet: leather, copper mesh and sponge.
Straps: nylon, aircraft-type; quick release[8].

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4. SET UP

1. Determine that the main supply is off. If not, turn off.

2. Determine that all switches on the Control Console are off.
3. Connect control cable between the Power Supply and the Control Console. Connect the
Control Console end first. The power is now supplied to the Control Console.
4. Complete test of Control Console.
5. Complete test of Power Supply.
6. Complete test of Electric Chair.
7. Connect power cable between the Power Supply and the Electric Chair. Connect Electric
Chair end first.
8. The Electrocution System is now ENERGIZED and ready for use[8].

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5. PROCEDURE

1. Determine that the input circuit breaker to the Power Supply is off. Only one key is to be
used for operation.
2. Prepare subject for electrocution: Shave approximately a three Inch (3") diameter spot on
the top of executee's head. Cut pants off to knees, slit pants to knees or supply subject with
short pants.
3. Mix a saturated saline (salt water) solution (add salt until it will no longer mix to lukewarm
water).
4. Wet sponge in helmet (saturate).
5. Wet ankle sponges if a determination is made that they are to be utilized. Use of sponges is
recommended in most cases.
6. Loosen all adjustments in restraint system and move backrest all the way back.
7. Sedate subject either orally or with injection if permissible. This should be done one half
(1/2) hour prior to the execution.
8. Curtain on witness window should be opened.
9. Subject must walk into execution chamber and speak to shown he is alive.
10. Curtain on witness window should be closed.
11. Executee should be strapped into chair in the following manner:
A. Connect and tighten waist harness.
B. Tighten shoulder adjustments.
C. Connect and tighten arm restraints.
D. Insert subject's legs into electrodes on leg stock. The saturated saline sponges are
recommended and may be placed behind the subject's leg between the leg and the electrode.
E. Install saline saturated helmet on the executee's head and tighten chin strap as tight as
possible. The face curtain is optional and may be installed at this time.
F. Insert helmet conductor into electrode on helmet and tighten handscrew. Tighten further
with allen wrench.
12. Open the witness window curtain.

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13. The Doctor should now examine the subject and certify that he is alive.
14. Turn on input circuit breaker to the Power Supply.
15. On order from the Warden, the key will be inserted and the Power On switch will be
turned on.
16. On order from the Warden, the key will be inserted and the Computer On switch will be
turned on.
17. On order from the Warden, the execution will commence. An executioner will push either
the SINGLE or DOUBLE b uttons, simultaneously, if two. Verify the Electric Chair
Energized light.
18. Upon completion of the 2 cycles, the subject should be dead.
19. Use key to shut off Computer On switch and Power On switch.
20. Shut off input circuit breaker to the Power Supply.
21. The Doctor should now verify heart death of the executee.
22. The execution is now over.
23. Close witness window curtain and remove witnesses.
24. Verify that all switches are off. Verify that the input circuit breaker to the Power Supply
is off.
25. The Executee should be removed from the chair in the following manner:
A. Disconnect helmet in reverse procedure of thirteen (13) F. Loosen and remove Helmet.
B. Pull release on ankle fasteners and pull legs forward.
C. Pull release on arm fasteners and free arms.
D. Pull release on chest harness fastener and subject's body will slump forward and hang in
harness.
E. Remove subjects body to storage or pick-up location.
26. Clean chair seat with lysol or similar disinfectant and mild soap. Clean electrodes with
mild soap and water. Thoroughly dry chair. Wash and dry leg sponges.
27. Remove and dump drip pan; wash, dry and replace.
28. Clean helmet with clear water and dry. Store on styrofoam head.
29. Re-connect restraint system fasteners and partially tighten.

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30. Verify all switches and power off.
31. Disconnect both the control cable and the power cable[8].

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6. BLOCK DIAGRAM OF ELECTROCUTION SYSTEM


Fig. 5: Basic block diagram of the electrocution system

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7. MAP OF USAGE

Depicted below is a country wide map of usage of the electric chair.


Fig. 6: Map of usage
………Secondary method only
………Never used the method
………Used electric chair previously,
but not today

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8. SPONGE: THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN
ELECTROCUTION

Water, particularly salt water, is a good conductor of electricity. Having the brine-soaked
sponge causes the electricity to move in a more efficient line, thus killing the prisoner faster
(comparable to a fast blow to the head with a large hammer).
Without the sponge, the electricity would simply disperse over the body, meeting with a lot
of resistance, causing the body to cook, and death would be much more agonizing
(comparable to getting hit all over the body with a lot of small hammers)[5].

Fig. 7: Improper attachment of sponge can hamper the execution process in a gruesome
manner

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9. WAR OF CURRENTS

The War of Currents played an important role in assigning AC to be used in the Electric chair
all over the country. During the War of Currents Era (sometimes, War of the Currents or
Battle of Currents ) in the late 1880s, George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison became
adversaries due to Edison's promotion of direct current (DC) for electric power distribution
over alternating current (AC) advocated by several European companies and Westinghouse
Electric based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[6].



Fig. 8, 9: Thomas Edison(left) and George Westinghouse(right), the pioneers of DC and
AC respectively.


Fig. 10: Edison filmed the electrocution of an elephant in 1903 which was broadcast all
over the country, to further cement his claim that AC is more lethal and dangerous than
DC

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10. THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT MADE TOM HOWARD A N
OVERNIGHT CELEBRITY


Fig. 11: The famous photograph of Ruth Snyder’s execution

Tom Howard’s photograph of the execution of Ruth Snyder, at Sing Sing Prison , on January
12, 1928 has been called "the most famous tabloid photo of the decade".
Photographers are not permitted into executions in the United States, so the New York Daily
News , determined to secure a photograph, resorted to subterfuge. They brought in Howard,
who was not known to the prison warders or journalists in the New York area. He arrived
early and, passing himself in by posing as a writer, he took up a vantage position so as to be
able to take pictures with the help of a miniature camera that he had strapped to his right
ankle. The camera had a single photographic plate which was linked by cable to the shutter
release concealed within his jacket. When Snyder’s body shook from the jolt, Howard
depressed the shutter release, exposing the plate. The image appeared to have caught the
subject in motion from the execution, which added to the already dramatic scene. The
photograph was published the next day on the front page of the paper under the banner

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headline "DEAD!" and Howard gained overnight popularity, and was paid very well for the
image. Thereafter he worked in newspaper photography in Washington and Chicago, retiring
as chief photographer for the Chicago Sun- Times in 1961, the year of his death. He had been
in semi- retirement since 1951 following a heart attack. The state attempted to prosecute
Howard and the newspaper, but nothing ever came of it. For many years afterwards witnesses
to executions were searched and asked to hold up their hands so they could not operate
hidden cameras[4].


Fig. 12: The camera being strapped to Howard’s ankle

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11. LETHAL INJECTION- A MODERN ALTERNATIVE TO
ELECTRIC CHAIR


Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs (typically a
barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing the
immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital
punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide. It
kills the person by first putting the person to sleep, and then stopping the breathing and heart,
respectively.
Lethal injection gained popularity in the late twentieth century as a form of execution
intended to supplant other methods, notably electrocution, hanging, firing squad, gas
chamber, and beheading, which were considered to be more painful. It is now the most
common form of execution in the United States of America.
The concept of lethal injection as a means of putting someone to death was first proposed on
January 17, 1888, by Julius Mount Bleyer, a New York doctor who praised it as being
cheaper than hanging. Bleyer's idea, however, was never used.
On May 11, 1977, Oklahoma's state medical examiner, Jay Chapman, proposed a new, less
painful method of execution, known as Chapman's Protocol: "A saline drip shall be started in
the prisoner's arm, into which shall be introduced a lethal injection consisting of an ultra-
short-acting barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic." After the procedure was
approved by anesthesiologist Stanley Deutsch, the Reverend Bill Wiseman introduced the
method into the Oklahoma legislature, where it passed and was quickly adopted. Since then,
until 2004, thirty-seven of the thirty-eight states using capital punishment introduced lethal
injection.
Nazi Germany's T-4 Euthanasia Program used lethal injection as one of several methods to
destroy what the Nazi government dubbed "life unworthy of life ".
Lethal injection has also been used in cases of euthanasia to facilitate voluntary death in
patients with terminal or chronically painful conditions. Both applications have used similar
drug combinations. The export of drugs to be used for lethal injection was banned by the
European Union (EU) in 2011, together with other items under the EU Torture Regulation[6].

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APPLICATIONS


The only application of the electric chair is to be used as a means of capital punishment to the
accused, thus making society a safe place to live.
It was invented for the sole purpose of carrying out capital punishment, as a replacement for
Hanging, which was considered an inhumane method of execution. The electric chair has
helped carry out thousands of executions since its invention, the approximate no. of
executions being around 4500-5000. Some of the most infamous convicts have been
sentenced to be executed in the electric chair, including hundreds of Nazi War criminals of
the World War 2, who were responsible for the Holocaust.

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REFERENCES




[1]. The Electrical Chair: An Unnatural American History by Craig Brandon.

[2]. Edison and the Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death by Mark Essig.

[3]. The Electric Chair by Miss Milkweed L. Augustine.

[4]. The History of the Electric Chair by Mary Bellis.

[5]. Old Sparky: The shocking history of the Electric Chair.

[6]. AC/DC: The savage tale of 1
st
standards war by Tom Mcnichol.

[7]. Have a seat, please by Don Reid.