On August 6, 1890, at Auburn Prison, New York, William Kemmler became the first person to be sent to the chair. He was convicted of murdering his lover, Matilda Ziegler, with an axe
On August 6, 1890, at Auburn Prison, New York, William Kemmler became the first person to be sent to the chair. He was convicted of murdering his lover, Matilda Ziegler, with an axe. After he was strapped in, a charge of approximately 700 volts was delivered for only 17 seconds before the current failed.
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Although witnesses reported smelling burnt clothing and charred flesh, Kemmler was far from dead, and a second shock was prepared. The second charge was 1,030 volts and applied for about two minutes, whereupon smoke was observed coming from the head of Kemmler, who was clearly deceased. An autopsy showed that the electrode attached to his back had burned through to the spine.
Electrocution as a humane means of execution was first suggested in 1881 by Dr. Albert Southwick, a dentist. Southwick had witnessed an elderly drunkard “painlessly” killed after touching the terminals of an electrical generator in Buffalo, New York. In the prevalent form of execution at the time—death by hanging—the condemned were known to hang by their broken necks for up to 30 minutes before succumbing to asphyxiation. Dr. Southwick applauded Kemmler’s execution with the declaration, “We live in a higher civilization from this day on,” while American inventor George Westinghouse, an innovator of the use of electricity, remarked, “They would have done better with an axe.”
Electrocution as a humane means of execution was first suggested in 1881 by Dr. Albert Southwick, a dentist. Southwick had witnessed an elderly drunkard “painlessly” killed after touching the terminals of an electrical generator in Buffalo, New York. In the prevalent form of execution at the time—death by hanging—the condemned were known to hang by their broken necks for up to 30 minutes before succumbing to asphyxiation. Dr. Southwick applauded Kemmler’s execution with the declaration, “We live in a higher civilization from this day on,” while American inventor George Westinghouse, an innovator of the use of electricity, remarked, “They would have done better with an axe.”
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📸 Metal legend, Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead posed sitting strapped to an Electric Chair prop and smoking a cigarette during the photo session for the “Killed By Death”single in Pimlico, London on July 1st, 1984.
📸 Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns) 1984, Library of Congress (captioned as Kemmler, 1890) no photo exists. Lemmy is the best likeness 🤘
📸 Metal legend, Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead posed sitting strapped to an Electric Chair prop and smoking a cigarette during the photo session for the “Killed By Death”single in Pimlico, London on July 1st, 1984.
📸 Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns) 1984, Library of Congress (captioned as Kemmler, 1890) no photo exists. Lemmy is the best likeness 🤘
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