Most of us have been unfortunate to experience a minor electric shock, one way or the other. It might be at home or work.
But the electric chair is a different thing entirely. You may have watched it in the movies or seen it live. The electric chair is another execution method not very common these days.
New York was the first state to build the electric chair in 1888. So, you can see that it has been in existence for donkey years.
However, the latest electric chair execution happened in Tennessee in 2013. The inmate personally chose death by electric chair, even though he had the option of lethal injection.
There have been heated debates about what condemned prisoners experience while sitting in an electric chair.
So, here’s the question.
What does the electric chair feel like?
The electric chair is the chair of death and agony. It feels like something worst than pain.
Only inmates unfortunately executed via this means can explain the actual feeling. Unfortunately, no one condemned to die by electrocution lives to tell the tale.
Imagine sending between 500 to 2000 volts (7 to 9amps) of an electric current into a human’s body. That’s what the electric chair execution is about.
Once the prisoner gets seated, the executioner pulls the lever to drive the electric current into the person’s body. In a few seconds, the person could become unconscious.
One’s eyeballs could jump out of its socket. That’s how deadly the electric chair can be. You’ll see the eyeballs on the person’s cheek dangling. The shock can make you urinate and defecate on your body.
Blood gushes out of the criminal’s mouth, indicating that the electric current has cooked up the person’s internal organs.
Blood also changes to bright red, and you could hear the sound of something frying. The smell of flesh burning takes over the room. And before you know it, the person being electrocuted would be on fire.
Death by electric chair isn’t something anyone should wish upon themselves. The feeling is unexplainable. The electric current stretches the prisoner’s skin and causes the person to shatter at once.
Continue reading for more understanding about the electric chair.
How Long Do Criminals Stay In The Electric Chair?
The electric chair was built for execution purposes. Therefore, whoever is condemned to die by electrocution must be executed this way.
Once the prisoner is seated on the chair, the executioner pulls down the lever. In the first process, the machine is kept on for 15 to 20 seconds. If the person is still alive after this, the executioner pulls the lever down again.
In the second electrocution, the machine stays on for 20 to 30 seconds. A rise in temperature causes the blood’s color to change to bright red. The prisoner’s skin stretches and breaks.
However, the primary purpose is to leave the criminal dead. So, after the second process, a medical team is asked to confirm if the prisoner is dead or not.
If the prisoner weren’t dead, the electrocution would continue. But keep in mind that doctors don’t execute. They have to confirm if the person is dead or not.
After electrocution, the criminal can cool down for a while before an autopsy is carried out on the person.
Can A Criminal Survive Execution?
Most people enjoy twisting the law to favor their selfish interests. But the law is what it is. It’s also there for everyone to see. Ignorant of the law is not an excuse to invade execution. Once a person is sentenced, it’s final.
So, don’t believe the myth or interpretation of the double jeopardy clause. It’s only active once a person is facing persecution. Once an individual is sentenced to death by using an electric chair, they must be executed as stated by the judge.
If a criminal doesn’t die after the first use of the electric chair, the executioner has the right to repeat the process until the goal is achieved.
Can the condemned pretend to be dead after the first use of the electric chair? Well, most things are impossible, and this is one of them.
There are doctors around to ascertain if the individual is dead or not. If the criminal were unconscious, doctors would recommend another jolt of electric current to finish the job.
Other Methods Of Execution Besides The Electric Chair
Back then, the electric chair was a popular method of execution. In this 22nd century, it’s not that trendy. The last execution took place in 2013. Most states have also abolished the use of the electric chair.
Here are the various methods used for criminals given capital punishment and states that still use them.
Electric chair:
Only a handful of states in the United States of America allow this execution method, though as a second option. These include Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. In Oklahoma and Arkansas, the law only allows electric chairs if lethal injection is considered unconstitutional.
Lethal injection:
This is the most widely used method of execution in the country. Thirty-one states have laws that allow the use of lethal injection for criminals sentenced to death. Among the 31 states are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, and others.
Lethal Gas:
7 states still support the use of lethal injection. But have in mind that these states have lethal injection as their primary means of execution. If the drug’s absence is needed for lethal injection, they can decide to use other methods. Examples of the states in question include California, Alabama, Arizona, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Missouri.
Hanging:
Three states support this method of execution. These include Washington, Delaware, and New Hampshire. However, they all have lethal injection as the primary means of execution.
Firing squad:
Mississippi, Utah, and Oklahoma are the only three states in the country that still uses this method to execute criminals.
How The Electric Chair Functions
A condemned prisoner is brought into the room and made to sit down. Then an electrode is attached to the top of the criminal’s head. Next, an electrode is connected to one of the criminal’s lower legs.
The condemned is strapped to the electric chair to prevent them from falling off when the device discharging the electric current is turned on.
The electrode connected to the criminal’s body boasts long wires, which leads to a device. It’s this device, which creates a mighty electric current. When the executioner turns the machine on, the electric current goes into the criminal’s head, throughout his or her body, then comes out via the electrode attached to one of the legs.
The device sends a massive electric current through the criminal’s body, causing the skin to stretch and even explode. The body heats while the muscles contract, causing the condemned to stop breathing. Their nervous system is also shut down.
Conclusion
Although not all state allows the use of electric chairs by law, other methods of execution are still available. Only criminals face execution. So, if you’re wise enough to shun crime, you shouldn’t be bothered about knowing how the electric chair feels.
Overall, being executed by the electric chair is an experience no one wants to go through. The feeling is worst than pain. Nothing can describe it.
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