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ELECTROCUTION (an anomalous derivativ...
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See also:ELECTROCUTION (an anomalous derivative from " electroexecution "; syn. " electrothanasia ") , the popular 'name, in-vented in See also:America, for the infliction of the See also:death See also:penalty on criminals (see See also:CAPITAL See also:PUNISHMENT) by passing through the See also:body of the condemned a sufficient current of See also:electricity to cause death. The method was first adopted by the See also:state of New See also:York, a See also:law making this method obligatory having been passed and approved by the See also:governor on the 4th of See also:June 1888. The law provides that there shall be See also:present, in addition to the See also:warden, two physicians, twelve reputable citizens of full See also:age, seven See also:deputy sheriffs, and such ministers, priests or clergymen, not exceeding two, as the criminal may See also:request. A See also:post-mortem examination of the body of the convict is required, and the body, unless claimed by relatives, is interred in the See also:prison See also:cemetery with a sufficient quantity of quicklime to consume it. The law became effective in New York on the 1st of See also:January 1889. The first criminal to be executed by electricity was See also: F. See also:Davis, the state electrician of New York. The See also:voltmeter, ammeter andswitch-See also:board controlling the current are located in the See also:execution-See also:room; the dynamo-room is communicated with by electric signals. Before each execution the entire apparatus is thoroughly tested. When everything is in readiness the criminal is brought in and seats himself in the death-chair. His head, See also:chest, arms and legs are secured by broad straps; one electrode thoroughly moistened with See also:salt-See also:solution is affixed to the head, and another to the See also:calf of one See also:leg, both electrodes being moulded so as to secure See also:good contact. The application of the current is usually as follows: the contact is made with a high voltage (1700-1800 volts) for 5 to 7 seconds, reduced to 200 volts until a See also:half-See also:minute has elapsed; raised to high voltage for 3 to 5 seconds, again reduced to See also:low voltage for 3 to 5 seconds, again reduced to a low voltage until one minute has elapsed, when it is again raised to the high voltage for a few seconds and the contact broken. The ammeter usually shows that from 7 to 10 amperes pass through the criminal's body. A second or even a third brief contact is sometimes made, partly as a precautionary measure, but rather the more completely to abolish reflexes in the dead body. Calculations have shown that by this method of execution from 7 to ro h. p. of See also:energy are liberated in the criminal's body. The See also:time consumed by the strapping-in See also:process is usually about 45 seconds, and the first contact is made about 70 seconds after the criminal has entered the death-chamber. When properly performed the effect is painless and instantaneous death. The mechanism of See also:life, circulation and respiration cease with the first contact. Consciousness is blotted out instantly, and the prolonged application of the current ensures permanent derangement of the vital functions beyond recovery. Occasionally the drying of the See also:sponges through undue See also:generation of See also:heat causes desquamation or superficial blistering of the skin at the site of the electrodes. Post-mortem discoloration, or post-mortem lividity, often appears during the first contact. The pupils of the eyes dilate instantly and remain dilated after death. The post-mortem examination of " electrocuted " criminals reveals a number of interesting phenomena. The temperature of the body rises promptly after death to a very high point. At the site of the leg electrode a temperature of over 128° F. was registered within fifteen minutes in many cases. After the removal of the See also:brain the temperature recorded in the See also:spinal See also:canal was often over 120° F. The development of this high temperature is to be regarded as resulting from the active See also:metabolism of tissues not (somatically) dead within a body where all vital mechanisms have been abolished, there being no circulation to carry off the generated heat. The See also:heart, at first flaccid when exposed soon after death, gradually contracts and assumes a tetanized See also:condition; it empties itself of all See also:blood and takes the See also:form of a heart in systole. The lungs are usually devoid of blood and weigh only 7 or 8 ounces (avoird.) each. The blood is profoundly altered biochemically; it is of a very dark See also:colour and it rarely coagulates. (E. A. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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