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Electric chair at the Florida State Prison. The electric chair is a specialized device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The condemned is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. Alfred P. Southwick, a Buffalo, New York dentist, conceived this execution method in 1881.
Through his family associations, young Leuchter claimed he was able to witness an execution performed in an electric chair. Leuchter's impression of the event was that the electric chairs used by American prisons were unsafe and often ineffective. The event led him to design modifications to the device that were adopted by many American states.
Old Sparky is the nickname of the electric chairs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Old Smokey is the nickname of the electric chairs used in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. [1] "Old Sparky" is sometimes used to refer ...
Ted Bundy was one of the most notorious serial killers in history. He murdered more than 30 women between the years of 1974 and 1978, according to Biography.. In 1989, The 42-year-old "lady killer ...
They explored many forms of execution and in 1888 recommended electrocution using Southwick's electric-chair idea with metal conductors attached to the condemned person's head and feet. With their advice, the first law allowing the use of electrocution went into effect in New York State on January 1, 1889. [2]
In 1915, the electric chair was introduced and used for 45 years. [19] The more common nickname for the electric chair was "Old Sparky" though on occasions the name "Old Smokey" was used instead. Circa 1989 a new electric chair was developed, using wood from the old electric chair, which in turn came from former hanging gallows.
"Gruesome Gertie" is also infamous for having the first known incident of a failed execution by electrocution in the United States. During the execution of Willie Francis on May 3, 1946, the electric chair had been improperly set up by a drunken prison guard, causing Francis to scream "Take it off!
Enjoy a classic game of Hearts and watch out for the Queen of Spades!