What would be comparable in electrical power to kill condemmed prisoner in electric chair?

Question

In theory, I would imagine that with several thousand volts with low amps, one could withstand this much power and not be electrocuted, right. Then how many volts and amps does the electric chair use and what is the minimum power requirement that would fry the prisoner. The electric chair is hardly used anymore, in favor of lethal injection and to me, the chair would be cruel and punishment overkill. Just curious on the power issue.

The movie, The Green Mile, had a very disturbing electric chair scene which really seemed real. When they fired up the chair, the whole prison's lighting system started flickering and dimmed out

Answer 1

It's remarkable how little power is required to kill a human.

At 100 mA/110 volts A/C, will kill a person if connected for more than a couple of minutes. The heart will be excited by the frequency of the line voltage to try to beat at 60Hz, which is 60 times faster than normal. The muscle gets damaged - dead.

At higher amperage, same voltage, the heart will stop and the victim is paralyzed. If rescued within 30 seconds, recovery is likely. I personally experienced this. I was rescued and suffered internal burns of my muscles. This, by the way, is how I know this.

At much higher amperages, the victim is likely killed within a few seconds.

Here's an article with some of the data. Note that the amperage sufficient to kill is less than the amperage to light a 100Watt lightbulb.
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Answer 2

Typically an initial voltage of around 2,000 volts is applied for up to 90 seconds to stop the heart and induce unconsciousness. The voltage is then lowered to reduce current flow to approximately 8 amps.

Answer 3

I can only partially answer your question. To be more specific I know that about 6 Amps is enough to get you killed. Power equals Current intensity times vloltage...so all you need to find out now is the voltage of the chair...

Hope this helps you..:)

Answer 4

2,450 volts for 15 seconds, then death check. Interesting topic. The temp alone makes it a difficult environment for organs to fxn, anything above 110 degrees and you are in some serious shiat. (the voltage brings up to 100+ degrees)

All I know is that 100 volts knocks you down for sure.