Executioner's Current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and the Invention of the Electric Chair Book

I found this to be an interesting book discussing the decision to use electricity as a "painless and more humane" method of executing convicted criminals.

During the last of the 19th century, criminals were executed by hanging them. While this was an accepted practice, many people started to complain that this method was excessively cruel. They felt that unless the executioner was knowledgeable and experienced, the hanging could be botched, causing the criminal's execution to take 20 - 30 torturous minutes. As bad as this was, it was also a custom for the execution to be carried out in public with the idea that the display would discourage people from committing heinous crimes resulting in execution. Along with deciding that a more humane and less painful way was needed to execute criminals, it was also decided that public displays were not helping to deter criminal activity.

Around the time that the debate of finding a better way to execute criminals started, Thomas Edison brought about the age of electricity when he lit up Manhattan's financial district with direct current electricity. Being a competitive person, he was not at all pleased when a former colleague, George Westinghouse started lit up Buffalo using alternating current. With competing types of electrical current, the rivalry between the two men became bitter and personal. Westinghouse was saying that his type of electricity was more efficient, while Edison contended that DC electricity was safer than AC. So as the rivalry became more intense, Edison persuaded the leaders of New York to use alternating current to execute criminals. Westinghouse fought back, seeing through Edison's ploy and concerned that his company would forever be associated with the electric chair.

This is the story of how that played out in the late 19th century. The author discusses in great detail the background of the argument, as it plays out to the first electrocution in history. The person executed was William Kemmler, who was convicted of murdering his live-in lover. His trial and conviction did not take a long time, but his numerous appeals played out for over a year as the various interested parties fought over allowing him to be electrocuted on the new electric chair. Some argued that it would be a more humane as it would be an instantaneous death and that the convicted criminal would not feel anything because the electricity would pass through the body faster and kill him faster than the nerves could register pain. On the other side, the argument was that it was a potentially cruel punishment, and having never been done before, it was also an unusual punishment and therefore was unconstitutional. After all the arguments, William was electrocuted, though unfortunately for William, it was horribly botched.

I really enjoyed this book about the history of the electric chair and electrocution in America. It reads quickly, while staying informative and engrossing. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys American history, as well as late 19th century social science and how heavily it was influenced by businesses.