Is the Electric Chair dangerous?

Answer 1

After death row inmate Brandon Hedrick chose to be executed by electrocution July 20, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said the electric chair should no longer be an option.

He’s right.

Hedrick, who was put to death after being found guilty of murdering and raping Lisa Crider, a young Lynchburg mother, had the option of electric chair or lethal injection. He chose the chair, and with that decision, he made history in another sense: He was the first person in the United States to be executed by electrocution in more than two years.

The electric chair was first used in 1890, and was deemed a more humane way to execute than hanging. Since then, more than 1,000 people have been put to death in the electric chair.

It’s not a pretty sight. Hours before being strapped into a heavy, oak chair, the person getting electrocuted must get his head and one calf shaved. Once in the chair, electrodes are clamped to head and leg. Then, according to the American Police Hall of Fame, a mask goes over the face to prevent the eyes from popping out of the head as the current surges through the body. At the designated hour, a switch is thrown, and a high-voltage, alternating current surges through the inmate’s body. His muscles will instantly contract to a state of rigidity, causing his heart and lungs to stop. Sometimes, the flesh can burn.

In ideal conditions, an execution can take place in about three minutes.

But, according to a recent report by The Associated Press, Virginia has had problems with electrocutions in the 25 years since the state resumed use of the chair. In 1990, blood was seen streaming from inmate Wilbert Evans’ mask. The next year, inmate Derick Peterson needed extra jolts to kill him after he survived the first round.

Virginia is one of only 10 states that offer the electric chair as an option.

“I think it should be lethal injection, period,” Kaine said in an interview on WTWP, Washington Post Radio. “The fact that it was kept as a choice for electrocution I think is an odd quirk, and yet for some reason that was the choice that Hedrick made.”

Reports suggested that Hedrick was concerned about the pain he might feel with a lethal injection, which may be founded - legal scholars and doctors are increasingly re-evaluating the potential pain associated with lethal injections.

But the legislation to offer the lethal injection option remains sound. State Delegate Philip Hamilton sponsored the bill “to carry out the death penalty in a way that doesn’t cause the state to stoop to the level of the criminal.”

Reuters News Service reports that recent polls indicate a majority of Americans - about 65 percent - support capital punishment. Given those statistics, it seems prudent to make sure that those executions are carried out in the most ethical and painless method possible.

Although Nebraska’s Supreme Court ruled on July 28 that the use of the electric chair is not cruel and unusual punishment, there is no doubt that being electrocuted to death is quite gruesome. There are better alternatives.

Answer 2

Another and last opportunity- A C or D C ?

Answer 3

No, not at all, 30,000 dead prisoners can't be wrong... what are you on by the way? Seems like some pretty good ****.

Answer 4

Only if you're the person sitting in it-----and it's switched on.......

Bit of a daft question really.

Answer 5

Naw, inmates get back massages from it.

Answer 6

Only if you sit in it!! Are you tired? Here, have a seat.

Answer 7

yes

Answer 8

Why, let me consult the stupid book. Oh... here it is. Let's see: oh it says it is! Well fancy that!!

Answer 9

no,just a bit warm :) you wont notice a thing

Answer 10

yes especially if u r wet.