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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.
The electric chair is a replica of the original. In the United States, an execution chamber will usually contain a lethal injection table. In most cases, a witness room is located adjacent to an execution chamber, where witnesses may watch the execution through glass windows.
In 1881, Alfred Southwick conceived the idea of electrical execution when he heard the story of an intoxicated man who touched a live electric generator.Given that the man died so quickly, Southwick, a Quaker, concluded that electricity could be used as an alternative to hanging, making executions more humane. [1]
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"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!