Electric Chair, 1890
by Sheila Terry
Title
Electric Chair, 1890
Artist
Sheila Terry
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Electric chair. Engraving of William Kemmler, the first man to be executed by electric chair, awaiting his death on 6 August 1890, at Auburn prison in New York, USA. Kemmler was convicted of killing his lover, Tillie Ziegler, in March 1889 and was sentenced to the electric chair. Despite appealing that electrocution was 'cruel and unusual punishment', the execution went ahead. It took two attempts to kill Kemmler. The electric chair was developed in the USA during the 1880s as a humane alternative to hanging and came into use for offences committed after 1 January 1889. The electric chair has been used in 27 American states. The Philippines is the only country outside the USA to use it.
Uploaded
May 7th, 2013
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