Once the gallows went behind prison walls, reformers asked how an execution should be done and answered with science. New York chose electricity in 1888 amid the Edison-Westinghouse commercial war, and the first electrocution took two currents. Nevada chose gas in 1924. In 1946 Louisiana's chair failed to kill seventeen-year-old Willie Francis and the Supreme Court allowed a second try: a method declared humane, a failure, a new method.
Who's who
- David B. HillNew York governor who appointed the commission and signed the 1888 law
- Elbridge T. GerryReformer who chaired the commission
- Alfred P. SouthwickBuffalo dentist whose idea of electrical execution the commission adopted
- Thomas EdisonInventor who came to support alternating current for executions
- George WestinghouseIndustrialist who opposed alternating current in the chair
- Harold P. BrownEngineer who campaigned against alternating current
- William KemmlerFirst person executed by electricity, 1890
- Willie FrancisLouisiana teenager who survived a failed electrocution in 1946
Where it happens
- Auburn Prison, New YorkSite of the first electrocution in 1890
- Carson City, Nevada+1 more episodeSite of the first U.S. gas execution in 1924
- St. Martinville, LouisianaParish of the Willie Francis case
- Parchman, MississippiGas chamber execution failure in 1983 is recounted
Timeline
- 1888New York law adopts electrical execution
- August 6, 1890Kemmler executed at Auburn; two currents required
- February 8, 1924Gee Jon executed by gas in Nevada
- May 3, 1946Electric chair fails to kill Willie Francis
- January 13, 1947Supreme Court rules 5 to 4 in Francis v. Resweber
- May 9, 1947Francis executed
Still debated
Whether the Louisiana crew was drunk is an allegation by witnesses never tested in court. Whether Francis was guilty and whether Jesse Tafero was innocent are debated, and no court revisited Francis's verdict. Whether the Francis precedent governs a case where drugs were actually given is open.