William Kemmler Became The First Person In The United States To Be Executed By Electric Chair At Auburn Prison In New York. This Execution Marked A Turning Point In The History Of Capital Punishment In America And Was The Culmination Of A Scientific, Legal, And Ethical Debate That Had Been Intensifying Since The Late 1880s. The Event Was Not Only Technologically Pioneering But Also Legally Significant, As It Set A Precedent For The Use Of Electrocution As A Form Of State-Sanctioned Execution, Replacing Hanging In Several Jurisdictions.
The Invention Of The Electric Chair Was Largely Driven By A Broader Technological Rivalry Known As The “War Of Currents” Between Thomas Edison And George Westinghouse. Edison Supported Direct Current (DC), While Westinghouse Advocated For Alternating Current (AC). To Undermine The Public Image Of Westinghouse’s AC System, Edison And His Allies Demonstrated Its Danger By Electrocuting Animals In Public And Promoting Its Use In Capital Punishment. Harold P. Brown, An Electrical Engineer Working With Edison, Played A Major Role In Designing The First Electric Chair. New York Became The First State To Authorize Electrocution As A Humane Alternative To Hanging Through Legislation Passed In 1888.
William Kemmler Was Convicted Of The March 1889 Murder Of His Common-Law Wife, Matilda “Tillie” Ziegler, In Buffalo, New York. He Was Found Guilty And Sentenced To Die By Electrocution Under The Newly Adopted New York State Law. Kemmler’s Defense Attorney, W. Bourke Cockran, Argued That Electrocution Was Cruel And Unusual Punishment And Therefore Unconstitutional Under The Eighth Amendment. The Case Reached The United States Supreme Court As In Re Kemmler, Where The Court Upheld The Sentence In A Decision Issued On May 23, 1890, Declaring That The Method Did Not Violate Constitutional Standards As Long As It Was Not Designed To Inflict Unnecessary Cruelty.
The Execution Was Carried Out By Edwin F. Davis, New York’s First State Electrician, And It Was Witnessed By Reporters, Physicians, And Prison Officials. Kemmler Was Strapped Into The Electric Chair At Approximately 6:38 A.M. And The First Current, Delivered At 1,000 Volts, Lasted Seventeen Seconds. However, Observers Quickly Realized That He Was Still Breathing. A Second, More Powerful Surge Of 2,000 Volts Was Then Applied, Lasting Over A Minute. The Process Caused Blood Vessels To Rupture, And Smoke And The Smell Of Burning Flesh Filled The Room. Witnesses Reported The Execution As Botched And Gruesome, Though It Was Ultimately Deemed Successful In Legal Terms. Westinghouse, Upon Hearing Of The Execution, Reportedly Commented That “They Would Have Done Better With An Axe.”
Despite The Public Horror At The Graphic Nature Of The Execution, The Use Of The Electric Chair Was Expanded In The Years Following Kemmler’s Death. It Was Adopted By Other States Including Ohio, Massachusetts, And New Jersey, Eventually Becoming A Common Method Of Execution In The United States Through Much Of The Twentieth Century. The Electric Chair Remained The Primary Method Of Execution In The U.S. Until The Mid-20th Century, When Lethal Injection Began To Replace It As The Dominant Practice.
Kemmler’s Execution Raised Questions About The Ethical Use Of Science And Technology In The Administration Of Justice. It Also Revealed Deep Tensions In American Society About The Role Of State Power, The Meaning Of Humane Punishment, And The Limits Of Constitutional Protections. Although Intended To Represent A More Civilized Form Of Capital Punishment, The Execution Demonstrated The Risks Of Applying Unproven Technology To Human Life.
Today, The Execution Of William Kemmler Is Remembered As A Landmark In Both Legal And Technological History. It Illustrates The Intersection Of Scientific Ambition, Legal Frameworks, And Societal Views On Justice. It Also Serves As A Historical Reminder Of The Challenges In Balancing Innovation With Humanity In The Pursuit Of Law And Order.
References / More Knowledge:
Banner, Stuart. The Death Penalty: An American History. Harvard University Press, 2002.
Gado, Mark. Death Row Women: Murder, Justice, and the New York Press. Praeger, 2008.
Kenny, Herbert A. “The First Execution by Electricity.” New York History, vol. 31, no. 2, 1950, pp. 207–217.
New York Times. “Kemmler Executed By Electricity.” August 7, 1890.
Reilly, Thomas. The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History. McFarland, 2009.
U.S. Supreme Court. In re Kemmler, 136 U.S. 436 (1890).