In 1890, the death penalty was carried out at Auburn Prison in New York against William Kemmler, who had been convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Matilda Ziegler with an axe. The execution was by electrocution. Though it was in 1890 that the first execution was carried out, electrocution as a humane means of execution was first suggested in 1881 by a dentist. Then in 1889, New York's Electrical Execution Law went into effect so the Auburn Prison electrician, Edwin R Davis was commissioned to design an electric chair. And on August 6, 1890, William Kemmler became the first person to be sent to the chair.
The day William Kemmler was getting execution, he was awakened at five o'clock in the morning in his cell. He dressed up neatly in a suit, white shirt and tie. He ate breakfast and said prayers and his head was shaved. At 6:38 am, he entered the execution chamber. Then he was fastened into the chair. The generator was charged with1,000 volts and the current was passed through Kemmler's body for 17 seconds. He was unconscious but still breathing so the current was turned on again at 2,000 volts. His skin began bleeding, part of his body was seen to be signed and a horrible smell spread through the death chamber. The procedure only took about eight minutes.
[CITATION]
・History. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-execution-by-electric-chair
・History Today. http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/first-execution-electric-chair
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