IN late XIX century, Thomas Edison invented the incandescent lamp, which was a truly great invention that made it possible to use electricity to illuminate cities...

A dentist from Buffalo, New York named Albert Southwick thought that electricity could be used in his medical practice as a pain reliever.
One day, Southwick saw one of the residents of Buffalo touch the exposed wires of an electric generator at the city power plant and die, as Southwick thought, almost instantly and painlessly.
This incident gave him the idea that electrocution could replace hanging as a more humane and quicker punishment.
Southwick first spoke with the head of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Colonel Rockwell, proposing the use of electricity to dispose of unwanted animals instead of drowning them (the method traditionally used).
Rockwell liked this idea.

In 1882, Southwick began experimenting on animals, publishing his results in scientific newspapers.
Southwick then showed the results to his influential friend, Senator David McMillan. Southwick stated that the main advantage of electrocution was that it was painless and quick.

Macmillan was committed to conservation death penalty; he was attracted to this idea as an argument against the abolition of the death penalty, because this type of execution could not be called cruel and inhumane, therefore, supporters of the abolition of the death penalty would lose their most compelling arguments.
MacMillan relayed what he heard to New York Governor David Bennett Hill.

In 1886, the “Law on the creation of a commission to study and present an opinion on the most humane and acceptable method carrying out the death sentence."
The commission included Southwick, Judge Matthew Hale and politician Eluridge Gerry.
The commission's conclusion, set out in a ninety-five page report, was as follows: best method The execution of a death sentence is execution using electricity.
The report recommended that the state replace hanging with new look executions.
Governor Hill signed the law on June 5, 1888, which was to take effect on January 1, 1889, marking the beginning of a new, humane punishment in the State of New York.

It remained to resolve the issue concerning the apparatus itself for carrying out the sentence and the question of what type electric current should be used: constant or variable.
It is worth considering the history associated with alternating and direct currents. How do they differ, and which current is more suitable for execution?
Long before the invention of Thomas Edison, scientists from different countries worked on this subject, but no one managed to use electricity in everyday life. Edison put into practice the theory developed before him.
Edison's first power plant was built in 1879; Almost immediately, representatives from different US cities went to the scientist.
Edison's DC system had its difficulties. Direct current flows in one direction. It is impossible to supply direct current over long distances; power plants had to be built even to provide electricity to a medium-sized city.

The solution was found by the Croatian scientist Nikola Tesla. He developed the idea of ​​using alternating current.
Alternating current can change direction several times per second, creating a magnetic field without losing electrical voltage.
AC voltage can be stepped up and down using transformers.
High voltage current can be transmitted over long distances with small losses, and then, through a step-down transformer, the electricity can be delivered to consumers.
Some cities used the alternating current system (but not Tesla's design), and this system attracted investors.

One such investor was George Westinghouse, famous for his invention of the airbrake.
Westinghouse intended to make the use of alternating current profitable, but Edison's direct current technology was more popular at the time. Tesla worked for Edison, but he did not pay attention to his developments, and Tesla quit.
He soon patented his ideas and was able to demonstrate them in action.
In 1888, Westinghouse bought forty patents from Tesla, and within a few years more than a hundred cities were using the alternating current system. Edison's enterprise began to lose ground. It became obvious that the AC system would replace the DC system.
However, Edison did not believe in this. In 1887, he began to discredit Westinghouse's system by requiring his workers to collect information on deaths caused by alternating current, in hopes of proving that his system was safer for the public.

The Clash of the Titans, as the story is sometimes called, began when the question arose about the type of current that was to be used in the apparatus for the death penalty. Edison did not want his invention to be associated with death; he wanted alternating current to be used in the death penalty apparatus.

On June 5, 1888, the New York Evening Post published a letter from Harold Brown warning about the dangers of alternating current. This letter caused alarmed reactions in society. In the 1870s, Brown was an employee of Edison, and it can be assumed that this letter was registered. In 1888, Brown conducted a series of experiments on animals demonstrating the destructive power of alternating current. The experiments used two used alternators because Westinghouse refused to sell its generators. Experiments were carried out on several dozen dogs, cats, and two horses.

The speech of the respected scientist Thomas Edison before the commission to decide on the method of execution made a vivid impression. The legendary inventor convinced everyone present that death using electricity is painless and quick, of course, when using alternating current. The commission had the choice to implement execution by lethal injection.
Lethal injection is considered more humane than the electric chair. In the 20th century, almost all states that have the death penalty began to use it.

Perhaps many would not have suffered in the electric chair if there had not been competition between campaigns or Edison's convincing speech to the commission, although main question was that execution by lethal injection must be carried out with the help of doctors or by the doctors themselves, which is impossible for obvious reasons.

The first execution took place on January 1, 1889.
For several decades after this event, this “unit” was called the Westinghouse chair or “Westinghoused”.

The next executions took place in the spring of 1891.
Four were executed for various crimes. The method of carrying out the sentence has been adjusted. The generator has become more powerful, the wires have become thicker. The second electrode was connected not to the spine, but to the arm.
These executions went more smoothly, and new method was accepted public opinion.
The first “tester” of the innovation was a murderer named Kemmsler. For obvious reasons, he was unable to describe his feelings, but witnesses to the execution noted that 15 to 20 seconds after the first discharge, the criminal was still alive.
I had to turn on a higher voltage current and for more long time. For a long time and painfully, the “experiment” was brought “to the end.” This execution caused many protests from the American and world public.

And the technology of killing with electric chair is as follows: the criminal is seated on a chair, tied to it with leather straps and secured at the wrists, ankles, thighs and chest. Two copper electrodes are attached to the body, one to the leg, and the skin underneath is usually shaved to better implementation current, and the second is applied to the shaved crown. Typically, the electrodes are lubricated with a special gel to improve current flow and reduce skin burning. An opaque mask is put on the face.

The executioner presses the switch button on the control panel, delivering the first shock with a voltage of 1700 - 2400 volts and a duration of 30 - 60 seconds. The time is set on the timer in advance and the current is turned off automatically. After 2 shocks, the doctor examines the body of the criminal, who may not have been killed by previous shocks. Death occurs as a result of cardiac arrest and respiratory paralysis.

However, modern executors have come to the conclusion that the passage of current through the brain does not cause instant cardiac arrest ( clinical death), but only prolongs the torment. Now criminals are made incisions and electrodes are inserted into their left shoulder And right thigh so that the discharge passes through the aorta and heart.

Although all methods of execution are cruel to one degree or another, the electric chair is prone to frequent and tragic malfunctions that cause additional suffering for the condemned, especially in cases where the equipment is old and in need of repair.

All this led to the fact that, under the influence of the famous American human rights activist Leo Jones, the electric chair was recognized as a “cruel, inapplicable” punishment, contrary to the US Constitution.

I will try to answer a little more broadly than previous authors.

The history of punishment and the death penalty, as its most extreme form, goes back centuries. IN different countries There were many sophisticated ways of killing a person. And all of them, until recently, were divided according to the “article” and the severity of the crime and the status of the violator of the law. It would take a very long time to write about all the times and all the countries, but from those already mentioned, it is worth noting that various quarterings and hangings were applied to the “common” people, and beheading (with a sword) was applied to the nobles. The latter practice continued until the 18th century. in France. It should be noted that any execution has always been public, since it is of an edifying (and somewhat entertaining) nature and previously declared the “shame” of the executed person (and sometimes his relatives).

Thus, at least three people took part in the execution: the criminal himself, his executioner and the spectator. Let’s not forget about the relatives of the deceased. With the development of ideas of humanism (and science), ideas of pity for all participants in the process appeared. The criminal, no matter who he was, remained a man, and torturing him did not look very good, since he had already received the “capital punishment”. The executioner, paradoxically, is also a man. He is not only with certain point will not want to take on sin (unless, of course, he is a sadist), but he also needs to be taught “painless” murder. There were always problems with this point, since the head still had to be cut off, a rope of the correct length had to be hung, a scaffold had to be built, but this was not always possible, and, as a result, through the fault of the executioner, the victim could suffer. Finally, the mass audience stopped liking this “entertainment” (although not immediately). Gradually, they came to the decision to carry out the execution in front of a small group consisting of those involved (prosecutor, judge, victim, disinterested witnesses). Relatives were to receive the body for a dignified burial (previously, the body could often hang for a long time for the same edifying purposes).

If we talk about countries, then by the 18th century. in England as the only way Hanging is approved as an execution; it also comes to the USA (then still a colony of England) and to Russia (thanks to Peter I, who replaced impalement with it. In France, as already mentioned, execution by cutting off the head is retained. During the years of the Great French Revolution, to solve The problem of the executioner was developed by the Guillotine (many people were executed; there were few skilled executioners capable of cutting off a head with one blow, and they could not work in the mode in which it was required. At the same time, the execution itself was “democratized” - it became). common to everyone.

Execution has also been known to us since ancient times (remember Saint Sebastian), however, as far as I know, it was used extremely rarely and was in no way connected with “war crimes”, as later. Since the advent of the first firearms, executions with them have not been practiced: squeaks, muskets, etc. were extremely unreliable, it was difficult to aim, and it was also necessary to find executioners (until the 18th century, all large European armies were mercenaries; for the execution of an unarmed person they would have been asked to pay extra for atonement for sin). Wide Application received execution after the improvement of weapons in the middle. XIX century. The first major example I remember was the execution of the Emperor of Mexico Maximilian I of Habsburg in 1867.

This same execution also showed all the disadvantages of this event, which were subsequently resolved in different ways: the firing squad did not want to shoot, they deliberately shot past, or the wounds were not fatal.

As already mentioned, the electric chair was an attempt to find alternative way hanging, and only in the USA. Albert Southwick is considered the inventor. And the role of Addison, and especially Tesla, in this is fictitious. Research has shown that the method is unreliable, the victim still suffers, and the process itself is not pleasant for anyone. Today, the electric chair remains only in the state of Virginia, and the person sentenced to death can choose whether to be burned or given a lethal injection. The latest to do so was Robert Gleason 2013.

Finally, the injection itself, first adopted in 1982, consists of two components (responding to comments on Pavel Voronov's answer): an anesthetic and the injection itself, which should instantly block nervous system any person. Why painkillers? All people are quite different. In theory, you need to calculate your own dose for everyone, which, by the way, is done in American prisons. However, it is always difficult to avoid a mistake, for such cases you need a painkiller - the process of death by injection is painful, although it lasts seconds, so that there are not even these seconds of agony (not to mention if it was calculated incorrectly and the process will last a little longer).

Returning to other executions, hanging in England was stopped in 1969, and the Guillotine was last used in France in 1977.

Let me summarize. To this day, execution has been humanized as much as possible. In many countries it is completely banned. In others, the process is reduced to making both the criminal, the executioner, and the spectator as “comfortable” as possible: only fast and reliable methods are used.

I will conclude that this is only part of the story of the execution. In other countries, at other times, things could have been different. For example, in Nazi Germany it was the other way around: deprivation of the head was considered a shameful death, while the same hanging has many methods, including a “painless” one. So in the above countries there were exceptions, special executions were used when special cases etc.

Well, no. During the Napoleonic era, execution as capital punishment was prescribed both in the French regulations (dating back to the times of the Ancien Regime) and in the Russian and other regulations of European armies. There is nothing difficult about having a dozen experienced soldiers fire a volley of muskets almost point-blank. And since execution was prescribed for extremely serious acts (looting, rape resulting in the death of the victim, etc.), the comrades did not particularly feel sorry for the person being shot.

Kruglova I.

Since the second half of the 19th century in the United States, hanging began to be considered an inhumane method of death penalty (if execution can be considered humane at all). State authorities wanted to quickly change hanging to some other method that would be less painful and would not cause public outrage. Here are two examples of executions that prompted state authorities to reconsider the old customary method of punishment.

The two criminals were convicted of different crimes and hanged on June 30, 1852. Black man Jonas Williams was convicted of rape and murder. white woman Anne Hoag for the murder of her husband. Was introduced new technology hanging, which involved the use of a counterweight that abruptly lifts the condemned person and breaks his neck. Williams, who was black, died quickly, but the white woman, who maintained her innocence until her death, suffered for several minutes. The public considered this to be unfair. Especially considering the historical situation of that time.

Another example of an execution: Roxalana Drews was hanged on the same new "humane" gallows on February 28, 1887. She suffered for 15 minutes. After this, the authorities were determined to make the execution more humane.

What were the difficulties of the main method of execution? Main problem was to determine the distance of fall required for rapid death. The length of the rope had to be calculated according to the weight and height of the convict. If the rope is too short, she will not be able to quickly break the neck. If the rope is too long, the convict can suffer for up to 45 minutes. Other difficulties were associated with tying the knot: this had to be done in a special way at the left ear. That is, everything must be observed technical specifications to cause a neck fracture. And this is difficult to achieve various reasons up to the excitement of the executioner. The occurrence of a fracture also depends on the muscles of the convict. If he has strong muscles neck, then the process will be slow, especially since a person usually strains his neck muscles, trying to fight for life. The last moments of the struggle for life are determined by the very instinct of preservation. Even knowing that you need to relax your neck in order to die quickly, the condemned person will unconsciously strain it.

After much experimentation and research, the electric chair was invented by January 1890.

On August 6, 1890, the first execution by electric chair took place. The first to be executed was William Kemmler (pictured left). Kemmler was a Buffalo merchant with an addiction to alcohol. He was very jealous, constantly suspected his beloved of cheating and was afraid that she would run away from him with someone else. One day, after a night of drinking, Kemmler thought his girlfriend was planning to escape and was packing her things, although she had only done the cleaning. But Kemmler was angry and exhausted by his doubts and suspicions. He killed his girlfriend with an ax and immediately went to the neighbors to report his crime. He said: “I killed her. I had to do it. I did this on purpose. I’ll take the rope for that.” But after a short trial, Kemmler was sentenced to death using a new method of killing - the electric chair.

The condemned man was asked if Kemmler wanted to say anything before he died. He said the following: “Well, gentlemen, I wish you good luck in this world. I think I'm heading to good place, and the newspapers wrote too much that didn’t exist.” The prison guard's hands shook as he tied the condemned man to the chair. Kemmler grumbled: “God, warden, be calm. Take your time." An electrode with a washcloth was attached to the convict's head. Another electrode was passed to the spine to open an unobstructed path for the current to flow through the body. The electrodes were wet saline solution. The voltage sufficient to quickly kill a person, as was established during experiments, was 2000 volts. Edwin Davis turned the switch to supply electricity to the chair. He made the chair himself and carried out several tests (he was later called the “state electrician”). The current passed through the body of the convict for 17 seconds. Kemmler was shaking, despite the belts; his face was filled with blood. When the current was stopped, Alfred Southwick (the Buffalo dentist who pioneered the idea of ​​electrocution) exclaimed, “This is the culmination of ten years of work and research! From this day on we live in a civilized world!” To his horror, Kemmler was not dead. The order was immediately given to turn the system back on, but time had already been lost. The generator needed to gain voltage again. All this time, Kemmler moaned and gasped. The witnesses were horrified. The current flowed through the convict again. This time the current was applied for a full minute. Smoke came from Kemmler's head, the room smelled of burnt flesh, and crackling sounds were heard. When the power was turned off, Kemler was dead.

The first execution by electric chair showed the imperfection of this method, which was considered the most humane at that time. Was the electric chair a step towards civilization, as it was called after its invention?

The next executions took place in the spring of 1891. Four were executed for various crimes. The method of carrying out the sentence has been adjusted. The generator has become more powerful, the wires have become thicker. The second electrode was connected not to the spine, but to the arm. These executions went more smoothly, and the new method was accepted by public opinion. However, the search for a more humane method continued. Moreover, a widespread abolitionist movement developed in the 20th century, and debate about the humanity of the death penalty continues in the United States to this day.

Sources:

1. Rob Gallagher. Northeast regional studies of the executions between 1607 and 1968 http://users.bestweb.net/~rg/execution/regional_studies_northeast.htm
2. History of Execution Methods in the U.S. Research from the Death Penalty Information Center. http://www.courttv.com/archive/national/death_penalty/history_dpenalty.html
3. MacLeod M. Condemned. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/not_guilty/chair/5.html
4. MacLeod M. Horrifying Mistakes. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/not_guilty/chair/6.html

Until recently, electrocution was considered one of the most humane ways of killing criminals. However, over the years of use, it has become clear that this type of execution is by no means completely painless, but, on the contrary, can cause terrible suffering to the convicted person. What can happen to a person caught in the electric chair?

Criminals began to be executed by electric chair at the end of the 19th century, when supporters of a “progressive” society decided that earlier existing species executions such as burning at the stake, hanging and beheading are inhumane. From their point of view, the criminal should not suffer additionally during the execution process: after all, the most precious thing - his life - is already taken away from him.

It is believed that the first model of the electric chair was invented in 1888 by Harold Brown, who worked for Thomas Edison. According to other sources, the inventor of the electric chair was dentist Albert Southwick.

The essence of the execution is this. The convict's head is shaved bald and back shin legs. Then the torso and arms are firmly tied with belts to a chair made of dielectric, with a high back and armrests. The legs are secured using special clamps. At first, the criminals were blindfolded, then they began to put a hood on their heads, and then lately – special mask. One electrode is attached to the head, on which a helmet is placed, and the other to the leg. The executioner turns on the switch button, which passes through the body an alternating current of up to 5 amperes and a voltage of 1700 to 2400 volts. Typically the execution takes about two minutes. Two discharges are given, each one is turned on for one minute, the break between them is 10 seconds. Death that must occur from cardiac arrest, in mandatory recorded by the doctor.

For the first time this method execution was carried out on August 6, 1890 in the Auburn prison in the US state of New York to William Kemmler, convicted of the murder of his mistress Tillie Zeigler.

To date, more than 4 thousand people have been executed in this way in the United States. This type of execution was also used in the Philippines. Communist spouses Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who worked for Soviet intelligence, also ended their lives in the electric chair.

“False humane” procedure

It was assumed that when an electric current was passed through the body, a person would die immediately. But this did not always happen. Often, eyewitnesses had to observe how people put in the electric chair convulsed, bit their tongues, foam and blood came out of their mouths, their eyes popped out of their sockets, involuntary bowel movements occurred and bladder. During the execution, some uttered piercing screams... Almost always, after the discharge was given, a light smoke began to emanate from the skin and hair of the convict. There have also been cases of a person sitting in an electric chair whose head caught fire and exploded. Quite often, the burnt skin was “stuck” to the belts and seat. The bodies of those executed were, as a rule, so hot that it was impossible to touch them, and the “aroma” of burnt human flesh hung in the room for a long time.

One of the protocols describes an episode when a convict was exposed to a discharge of 2450 volts for 15 seconds, but a quarter of an hour after the procedure he was still alive. As a result, the execution had to be repeated three more times until the criminal finally died. The last time, his eyeballs even melted.

In 1985, William Vandiver was electrocuted five times in Indiana. It took a full 17 minutes to kill him.

According to experts, when exposed to such high voltage human body, including the brain and others internal organs, literally roasted alive. Even if death occurs quickly enough, then at least a person feels the strongest muscle spasm, and also sharp pain in places where the electrodes come into contact with the skin. After this, loss of consciousness usually occurs. Here is the recollection of one survivor: “My mouth tasted like cold peanut butter. I felt my head and left leg, so I tried my best to break free from the bonds.” 17-year-old Willie Francis, who sat in the electric chair in 1947, shouted: “Turn it off! Let me breathe!

Repeatedly the execution became painful as a result of various failures and malfunctions. Thus, on May 4, 1990, when the criminal Jesse D. Tafero was executed, the synthetic padding under the helmet caught fire, and the convict received third- or fourth-degree burns. A similar thing happened on March 25, 1997 with Pedro Medina. In both cases it was necessary to turn on the current several times. In total, the execution procedure took 6-7 minutes, so it could not be called quick and painless.

The story of the killer caused great resonance the whole family Allen Lee Davis, who, before his execution, had not only his mouth (instead of a gag) sealed with leather tape, but also his nose. As a result, he suffocated.

Stool or injection?

Over time, it became clear that “humane” execution was in fact often excruciating torture, and its use was limited. True, some people believe that the point here is not at all about humanity, but about the high cost of the procedure.

Currently, electrocution is used in only six American states - Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Moreover, the convict is offered a choice - the electric chair or lethal injection. The last time the above-mentioned measure was applied was on January 16, 2013 in Virginia to Robert Gleason, who deliberately killed two of his cellmates so that his life sentence would be commuted to the death sentence.

In addition, in the USA there is a law: if a sentenced person survives after the third category, then he receives a pardon: they say, this means this is the will of God...