ELECTRIC CHAIR

     Invented in 1890, more than 1,000 persons have been executed in what some people call "The Hot Seat." It is a heavy wooden chair in which the person to be executed is strapped. Ideally, an execution can take place in about three minutes. The prisoner may go quietly or may fight to keep from being strapped in. A tight mask goes over the face especially about the eyes. (This prevents the eyes from popping out of the head as the current surges through the body.) In an actual execution as the first of three charges are sent, 2,000 volts cause the body to strain against the straps. The hair on the back of the neck stands straight up and the color of the skin is beet red. Since every effort is made to prevent burning the body the second and third jolts are kept to about 1,000 volts.

     The electric chair came into use in 1890 in New York and the first person to die was William Kemmler. A commission on the death penalty that had seen many hanging felt that it was far too long a process. Westinghouse at that time was trying to show how much better their power (AC) was against direct current. Mr. Harold Brown made the first model. When Kemmler was executed no one was sure how much power was used. Kemmler was burned and the autopsy described his flesh as well cooked beef. However, modern science now has fairly well gotten to the right voltage. While it is argued even today that the electric chair is not humane, Dr. Harold Kipp, who witnessed more than 200 executions at Sing Sing, stated that brain death is immediate. What people may see are muscle contractions, not agony.