THE INFLICTION OF THE 
DEATH PENALTY BY MEANS OF 
ELECTRICITY 
BEING A REPORT OF SEVEN CASES 
With Remarks on the Methods of Application and the 
Gross and Microscopical Effects of Electrical Currents of Lethal Energy 
on the Human Subject 
BY 
carlos f. Macdonald, m. d. 
PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK STATE COMMISSION IN LUNACY ; 
PROFESSOR OF MENTAL DISEASES IN THE BELLEVUE HOSPITAL MEDICAL COLLEGE; 
LECTURER ON INSANITY IN THE ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE « . , . 
REPRINTED FROM 
THE NEW YORK MEDICAL, JOURNAL 
FOR MAY 7 AND Ij, 1892 
NEW YORK 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
1892 THE NEW YORK MEDICAL JOURNAL, MAY 14, 1892. 
DR. MacDONALD'S ARTICLE ON 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
Fig. 3. 
Fig. 1. 
Fig. 2. 
Fig. 4. 
Fig. 1 shows the construction of the " death chair," the method of applying the current through 
the hands in the case of McElvaine, and the attitude of the subject before receiving the contact. 
Figs. 2, 3, and 4 show the character and distribution of the petechial spots in the floor of the 
fourth ventricle in the case of Schichiok Jugigo. With the Compliments of 
Dr. CARLOS F. MacDONALD, 
334 Fifth Avenue, 
New York. THE INFLICTION OF THE 
DEATH PENALTY BY MEANS OF 
ELECTRICITY 
BEING A REPORT OF SEVEN CASES 
With Remarks on the Methods of Application and the 
Gross and Microscopical Effects of Electrical Currents of Lethal Energy 
on the Human Subject 
BY 
carlos f. Macdonald, ir d. 
PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK STATE COMMISSION IN LUNACY ; 
PROFESSOR OF MENTAL DISEASES IN THE BELLEVUE HOSPITAL MEDICAL COLLEGE; 
LECTURER ON INSANITY IN THE ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE 
REPBIN TED FROM 
THE NEW YORK MEDICAL JOURNAL 
FOR MA Y 7 AND U, 1802 
NEW YORK 
D; APPLETON AND COMPANY 
1892 Copyright, 1892, 
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. THE INFLICTION OF THE 
DEATH PENALTY BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY * 
The widespread interest manifested by the general pub- 
lic in the new method of inflicting the death penalty by 
means of electricity, and the interest which medical science 
would naturally be expected to feel in the humane and 
scientific aspects of the subject, especially with reference to 
the absence of conscious suffering, and the changes, if any, 
in the tissues and organs of the human body resulting from 
the passage through it of electrical currents of lethal en- 
ergy, together with the fact that this method of executing 
criminals may now be said to have practically passed be- 
yond the experimental stage, would seem to justify, if not 
indeed to demand, the presentation of an authentic sum- 
mary of the practical results thus far obtained by some 
one whose data and conclusions would be derived from 
actual observation and experience in the application of the 
statute. The fact that the writer happens to be the only 
physician who has participated in all of the official pre- 
liminary experimental tests of apparatus, and witnessed all 
of the executions thus far had under the new law-not, 
however, from any zealous interest in the subject, nor even 
inclination to be present, but in obedience to the expressed 
desire of the chief executive of the State and other official 
superiors-furnishes the only excuse he would offer for un- 
dertaking what otherwise might well be regarded as an 
undesirable task. 
* Read before the Section in Public Health of the New York 
Academy of Medicine, March 16, 1892; also read by title before the 
Medical Society of the State of New York, February, 1892. 4 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
In view of the wide publication of distorted and sensa- 
tional accounts of the Kemmler execution, and the amount 
of adverse criticism and even condemnation based thereon 
of those who were called to act in an advisory capacity in 
the administration of the law, the writer, at the request of 
the Governor, prepared an official report of that event, 
some portions of which are necessarily here reproduced. 
The execution of William Kemmler, alias John Hart, at 
Auburn Prison, on August 6, 1890, pursuant to the statute 
in such case made and provided, marked the first case in 
the world's history of the infliction of the death penalty by 
electricity. Since then six other condemned murderers have 
been legally killed by this method at Sing Sing Prison- 
namely, James J. Slocum, Harris A. Smiler, Joseph Wood, 
and Schichiok Jugigo, on July 7, 1891 ; Martin D. Loppy, 
on December 7, 1891 ; and Charles McElvaine, on February 
8, 1892 ; making in all seven cases of successful infliction of 
the death penalty by electricity in the State of New York. 
The execution of Kemmler was under the immediate 
direction and control of the prison warden, the Hon. 
C. F. Durston, and took place in a room set apart for 
the purpose, in the basement of the administration build- 
ing of the Auburn Prison, to which the electric current 
was conducted by means of an ordinary electric-light wire. 
The apparatus consisted of a stationary engine, an alternat- 
ing-current dynamo and exciter, a Cardew volt meter, with 
extra resistance coil, calibrated for a range of from 30 to 
2,000 volts; an ammeter for alternating currents from OTO 
to 3 amperes, a Wheatstone bridge, rheostat, bell signals, 
and necessary switches; a " death chair," with adjustable 
head-rest, binding straps, and two adjustable electrodes. 
The dynamo was an alternating-current dynamo intended to 
supply 750 incandescent lamps of sixteen-candle power 
each, and capable of generating, as shown by careful tests 
made several months prior to the execution, a maximum 
electro-motive pressure of 2,376 volts, the commercial and 
mean voltage being 1,680 and 1,512, respectively, the speed 
of the dynamo being 1,900 revolutions, and of the exciter 
2,700. The chair, a square-framed heavy oaken one, with 
a high, slightly sloping back and broad arms, was fastened 
to the floor, the feet of the chair being properly insulated. BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
5 
Attached to the back of the chair, above the head-rest, was 
a sliding arrangement shaped like a figure four (4), the base 
or horizontal arm of which projected forward, and from 
which was suspended the head electrode, so as to rest on 
the vertex, or top of the head, against which it was firmly 
held by means of a spiral spring. The spinal or body elec- 
trode was attached to the lower part of the back of the 
chair and projected forward horizontally on a level with the 
hollow of the sacrum. The electrodes each consisted of a 
bell-shapped rubber cup about four inches in diameter, the 
part corresponding to the handle of the bell being of wood, 
through the long axis of which the wire passed into the 
bell, terminating in a metallic disc about three inches in 
diameter, and faced with a layer of sponge. The lower 
electrode was also provided with a sliding arrangement and 
spiral spring to hold it in place, while a broad strap fast- 
ened to the back of the chair and passed around the lower 
part of the prisoner's abdomen rendered the contact secure. 
The head was firmly secured by means of conjoined broad 
leather bands, which encircled the forehead and chin, con- 
cealing the eyes and upper portion of the face, and were 
fastened to the back of the almost perpendicular head 
rest, while the chest, arms, and legs were secured by broad 
straps attached to corresponding portions of the chair. The 
wire attached to the head electrode descended from the 
ceiling, and that of the lower one passed along the floor to 
the chair, being protected by a strip of wood. 
The dynamo and engine were located in one of the 
prison shops several hundred feet distant from the execu- 
tion room ; the voltmeter, ammeter, switch-board, etc., were 
located in a room adjoining the execution room, wdiich con- 
tained the death chair, electrodes, and connecting wires. 
Communication between the meter room and dynamo room 
was by means of electric signals. 
The apparatus used in the subsequent executions at 
Sing Sing was substantially a duplicate of that above de- 
scribed, except as regards the location of the measuring in- 
struments, switch-board, etc., and the form and points of 
application of the electrodes to be hereafter referred to. 
Of the twenty-five official witnesses present, fourteen 
were physicians; two of whom-Dr. E. C. Spitzka and the 6 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
writer - were officially designated as physicians by the 
warden, in pursuance of the statute. 
Before Kemmler was brought into the room the warden 
asked the physicians how long the contact should be main- 
tained ; the writer replied, Twenty seconds, but subsequently 
assented to ten seconds, in deference to the opinion of 
another that a considerably less period of time would suffice 
-an opinion which doubtless would have been sustained 
had the electro-motive pressure been sufficiently great. 
Unfortunately, in this instance, the voltmeter, ammeter, 
switch-board, etc., were not located in the execution room; 
hence none of the official witnesses could know precisely 
how much the electro-motive pressure and current strength 
were at the time of making and during the continuance of 
the first contact. Nor has the voltage or amperage in this 
instance, to the writer's knowledge, ever been officially de 
termined. But reasoning from the known lethal effect of 
an electro-motive pressure of 1,600 volts and upward, as 
own by subsequent executions and by deaths which have 
occurred from accidental contact with live electric wires, as 
well as by numerous experiments on animals whose weight 
exceeded that of man, affords solid ground for the conclu- 
sion that no human being could survive the passage through 
his body of an alternating current of more than 1,500 volts 
for a period of even twenty seconds, the contact being per- 
fect. 
The preliminary arrangements having been completed, 
Kemmler was brought into the execution room by the 
warden and introduced to the witnesses, who were seated in 
a semicircle facing the death chair. On entering the room, 
the prisoner appeared strikingly calm and collected. In 
fact, his manner and appearance indicated a state of subdued 
elation, as if gratified at being the central figure of the oc- 
casion, his somewhat limited intellect evidently rendering 
him unable to fully appreciate the gravity of his situation, 
lie was given a chair near the death chair, and, on being 
seated, in response to the warden's introduction, said: 
"Well, I wish every one good luck in this world, and I 
think I am going to a good place, and the papers has been 
saying a lot of stuff about me that wasn't true. That's all 
I have to say." At the warden's bidding, he then arose, BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
7 
removed his coat, and, without the least display of emotion 
or nervousness, took his seat in the execution chair, calm- 
ly submitting to the adjustment of the electrodes and 
binding straps, himself aiding the proceedings by sugges- 
tions and fixing his body and limbs in proper position. Ob- 
serving the nervousness of the prison officers who were ad- 
justing the straps, he admonished them not to hurry, and 
to " be sure that everything is all right." He pressed his 
bared back firmly against the spinal electrode and requested 
that the head electrode be pressed down more firmly on the 
top of his head, from which the hair had been imperfectly 
clipped before he entered the room, remarking, at the same 
time, that he desired to perform his part to the best of his 
ability. The preparations terminated with a final moisten- 
ing of the electrodes, the whole occupying, at most, between 
three and four minutes. Everything being seemingly ready, 
the warden signaled to his assistants in charge of the 
switches in the adjoining room to turn the lever which 
closed the circuit and instantly sent the deadly current 
through the prisoner's body. The instant the contact was 
made the body was thrown into a state of extreme rigidity, 
every fiber of the entire muscular system being apparently 
in a marked condition of tonic spasm. Synchronously with 
the onset of rigidity, bodily sensation, motion, and con- 
sciousness were apparently absolutely suspended, and re- 
mained so while electrical contact was maintained. At the 
end of seventeen seconds Kemmler was pronounced dead, 
none of the witnesses dissenting, and the warden signaled 
to have the contact broken, which was immediately done. 
For obvious reasons, the only means of determining the 
question of death while the body was in circuit was by 
ocular demonstration; so that it can not be positively as- 
serted that the heart's action entirely ceased with the onset 
of unconsciousness, though most of the medical witnesses 
present thought that it did. 
When the electrical contact was broken the condition 
of rigidity noted above was instantly succeeded by one of 
complete muscular relaxation. At the same time superficial 
discolorations resembling commencing capillary post-mor- 
tem changes were observed on the exposed portions of the 
face. The body remained limp and motionless for approxi- 8 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
mately half a minute, when there occurred a series of slight 
spasmodic movements of the chest, accompanied by the ex- 
pulsion of a small amount of mucus from the mouth. There 
were no evidences of a return of consciousness or of sen- 
sory function; but, in view of the possibility that life was 
not wholly extinct, beyond resuscitation, and in order to 
take no risk of such a contingency, the current was ordered 
to be reapplied, which was done within about two minutes 
from the time the first contact was broken. The sudden 
muscular rigidity noted on the first closure of the circuit 
was again observed and continued until the contact was 
again broken, when the opposite state of complete muscular 
relaxation re-occurred. The second closure of the circuit 
was inadvertently maintained for about seventy seconds, 
when a small volume of vapor, and subsequently of smoke, 
was seen to issue from the point of application of the spinal 
electrode, due, as was subsequently found, to scorching of 
the edge of the sponge with which the electrode was faced, 
and from which the moisture had been evaporated by pro- 
longed electrical contact. The odor of the burning sponge 
was faintly perceptible in the room. There was also some 
desiccation of the already dead body, immediately under- 
neath the electrodes, especially under the lower one, which 
will be described in connection with the autopsy. 
A careful examination of the body was now made, in 
which the medical witnesses participated to a greater or less 
extent. The radial pulse and heart's action had ceased, 
the pupils were dilated, and the corneae were depressed and 
flaccid on pressure. In other wTords, William Kemmler was 
dead, and the intent and purpose of the law to effect sud- 
den and painless death in the execution of criminals had 
been successfully carried out. 
In the excitement and confusion of the moment, occa- 
sioned by the belief on the part of some that death was not 
complete, the second application of the current in Kemm- 
ler's case was maintained too long-nearly a minute and 
a half. If there was a spark of unconscious vitality re- 
maining in the prisoner's body after the first contact was 
broken-there certainly was no conscious life-it was ab- 
solutely extinguished the instant the second and last con- 
tact was made. That the man was dead, however, com- BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
9 
paratively long before the burning of the sponge and desic- 
cation of tissue occurred, there is no reason to doubt. 
The movements referred to were regarded by most of 
the medical witnesses present, including the writer, as 
similar in character to those which have occasionally been 
observed for a short time in animals experimentally killed by 
electricity, when the contact was too brief or the current 
strength insufficient, the animal dying, however, in a short 
time without regaining consciousness-movements which 
may properly be regarded as involuntary or retlex in char- 
acter, following the too early interruption of the current, 
and in no sense a resumption of respiratory function, how- 
ever much they may appear to be so to superficial observ- 
ers or to those not familiar with the phenomena referred to, 
as observed in experiments on lower animals. These move- 
ments are very slight in comparison with those usually ex- 
hibited by animals suddenly decapitated, and which usually 
continue a considerable period of time. 
Dalton, in his work on Human Physiology,* refers to 
observations made by Robin on the reflex action of the 
spinal cord in the case of a criminal who was executed by 
decapitation, the head having been severed near the fourth 
cervical vertebra. Muscular contractions were produced 
about an hour after execution by scratching with a pointed 
instrument the skin of the chest at the areola of the nipple 
while the right arm was lying extended by the side. On 
irritating the skin at the point and in the manner mentioned 
there immediately occurred a series of contractions of the 
pectoralis major, the biceps, probably the brachialis anticus, 
and lastly the muscles covering the internal condyle, causing 
the whole arm to approach the trunk, with inward rotation 
and half flexion of the forearm upon the arm, and bringing 
the hand toward the chest as far as the epigastrium. On 
replacing the arm and repeating the irritation as before, a 
similar defensive movement occurred. This experiment 
was repeated four times with similar results, except that 
each time the movement was less extensive; and finally 
scratching the skin over the chest " produced only contrac- 
tions in the great pectoral muscles which hardly stirred the 
limb." 
* A Treatise on Human Physiology, seventh edition, p. 404. 10 
THE infliction of the death penalty 
Observations made at executions subsequent to Kemrn- 
ler's tend to show that reflex excitability of the voluntary 
muscles disappears much more rapidly after death by elec- 
tricity than by any other method of sudden dissolution. 
In the case of McElvaine, executed at Sing Sing on Febru- 
ary 8, 1892, Dr. Van Gieson found that reflex action of 
the voluntary muscles was absolutely unresponsive-to ordi- 
nary mechanical stimuli (see report of autopsy in case of 
McElvaine)-within two or three minutes after the last con- 
tact was broken. 
That there were certain defects of a minor character in 
the arrangement and operation of the apparatus at the 
first execution by this method will be questioned by no one 
who witnessed it; but when it is recalled that, notwith- 
standing these defects, unconsciousness was instantly ef- 
fected and death was painless-also that less than four 
minutes elapsed between the making of the first contact 
and the breaking of the last one, when Kemmler was abso- 
lutely dead-it will be conceded by unprejudiced minds that 
the object to be attained in the infliction of the death penalty, 
at least so far as relates to the individual-namely, sud- 
den and painless death-was fully realized in Kemmler's 
case; and had the first contact been maintained for a suffi- 
cient length of time, in all probability there would have 
been no involuntary movement of the body after it was 
broken, and no unfavorable criticism of the result could 
then have truthfully been made. 
Among other criticisms which appeared in the public 
press anent the execution of Kemmler was a reported 
declaration of the most illustrious electrical expert of the 
age, in which he was made to say that a serious mistake 
had been committed in not making contact through the 
hands instead of the head, the skull and hairy scalp being 
poor conducting media. 
However logical this criticism may be from the stand- 
point of an electrician, it is not sustained by our knowledge 
of electro-therapeutics and of the physical properties of 
live bone. In what was intended to be an impersonal reply 
to this criticism, the writer, in his report to the Governor, 
took occasion to call attention to certain facts which are 
well known to physiologists and medical electricians- BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
11 
namely, that the arrest of the heart's action can be as 
readily effected by destroying or paralyzing the brain 
center which controls such action as by attacking the 
heart itself ; hence, by including the brain directly in the 
circuit, the action of the heart would probably be quickly 
arrested, while at the same time all the vital centers, in- 
cluding that of consciousness, would be paralyzed ; also that 
the brain itself is very susceptible to the influence of elec- 
tricity, and can be readily affected, sometimes to an alarm- 
ing extent, by the passage into it through the skull of mild 
currents, such as are obtained from medical batteries; that 
the nerve tissues contain an excess of saline moisture, and 
hence are among the best of conductors, while the amount 
of organic matter contained in live bone is sufficient to 
render that substance a fairly good conductor. Further, it 
is not difficult to penetrate the hairy scalp by electricity if 
the hair be properly moistened, the conductivity of all the 
tissues of the body being largely dependent on the amount 
of moisture and salinity contained in them. 
In each of the five cases following the Kemmler case * 
-namely, Slocum, Smiler, Wood, and Jugigo, executed at 
Sing Sing Prison, July 7, 1891, and Loppy at the same place, 
December 7, 1891-one electrode was so applied as to cover 
the forehead and temples, and the other, a larger one, the 
calf of the right leg, except in the case of Joseph Wood, in 
which it was applied to the left leg in consequence of the 
existence of an ulcer on the right one. The calf of the leg 
was selected because it furnished a broad area of thin skin. 
The point of contact of the body electrode is not of mate- 
rial importance. It may be applied to the hand, the foot, 
the calf of the leg, or to any other indifferent part of the 
body. 
The electrodes were thoroughly wet with a solution of 
salt water before the current was turned on, and were moist- 
ened at intervals, when the current was interrupted, with the 
same solution thrown on them from a syringe. 
The following summary of these executions, except as 
* The head electrode originally suggested in Kemmler's case, but 
which, for some reason unknown to the writer, was not used, was de- 
signed to include the forehead, down to the eyebrows, in the zone of 
contact. 12 
THE infliction of the death penalty 
relates to Kemmler, is taken from the official reports made 
to the warden of the prison, the Hon. W. R. Brown, by Dr. 
S. B. Ward, of Albany, N. Y., and the writer, who appeared 
as medical advisers for the State : 
The electromotive pressure, as shown by the readings 
of the voltmeter, taken by Professor L. A. Laudy, of Co- 
lumbia College, varied from 1,458 to 1,716 volts, while the 
ammeter showed a variation in current of from 2 to 7 am- 
peres. 
The preliminary preparations-that is, from the time the 
prisoner entered the execution room to the closure of the cir- 
cuit which rendered him unconscious-occupied, in Kemm- 
ler's case, approximately, four minutes ; in Slocum's case, 
three minutes and forty seconds; in Smiler's case, two min- 
utes ; in Wood's case, two minutes and forty seconds ; in 
Jugigo's case, two minutes and fifteen seconds ; in Loppy's 
case, two minutes and thirteen seconds; and in McElvaine's 
case, one minute and forty-nine seconds. 
In each instance the prisoner walked deliberately to the 
chair and quietly submitted to the application of the re- 
straining straps and electrodes without the slightest oppo- 
sition or show of resistance, and also, save in the cases of 
Kemmler and McElvaine, without uttering a word in rela- 
tion to the proceedings. With the single exception referred 
to (Kemmler's case), there was no exhibition of confusion 
or excitement on the part of witnesses, nor was there any- 
thing unduly repulsive in the executions themselves; on the 
contrary, everything was done in a quiet, orderly, and dig- 
nified manner, in keeping with the solemnity of the occa- 
sion. The most striking and constant objective phenomena 
observed were instantaneous and complete tonic rigidity of 
the muscular system on closure of the circuit and marked 
muscular relaxation immediately the contact was broken. 
In Kemmler's case there were two contacts, through ver- 
tex and lower end of spine, lasting seventeen and seventy 
seconds, respectively, the last one being unnecessarily pro- 
longed ; in Slocum's case, two contacts-twenty-seven and 
twenty-six seconds ; in Smiler's case, four contacts, three of 
ten seconds each and the fourth nineteen seconds; in 
Wood's, three contacts of twenty seconds each ; in Jugigo's, 
three contacts of fifteen seconds each ; in Loppy's case, four BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
13 
contacts of fifteen, eleven, fifteen and a half, and ten and a 
half seconds, respectively. (Tn all of these five cases con- 
tact was through the head and leg.) And in McElvaine's case, 
two contacts, the first one through the hands * (immersed 
to the wrists in liquid electrodes), lasting fifty seconds, and 
the last one through the head and leg, lasting thirty-six 
seconds. 
In Kemmler's case there were chest movements, and 
possibly heart-beat, after the first contact (seventeen sec- 
onds) ; in Slocum's, chest movements and radial pulsation 
after first contact (twenty-seven seconds) ; in Smiler's, no 
movement of chest, but radial pulsation after three contacts 
(ten seconds each); in Wood's, no movement or pulse-beat 
whatever; in Jugigo's, a slight fluttering of radial pulse 
when final contact was broken, which rapidly ceased. 
In all the cases except Kemmler's and McElvaine's 
contact was broken for the purpose of wetting the elec- 
trodes. 
From the foregoing it appears that the time consumed 
in the preliminary preparations-strapping, adjusting elec- 
trodes, etc.-varied from four minutes in the first to less 
than a minute and a half in the last instance; that the 
number of contacts varied from two to four, and that the 
aggregate length of the contacts in each case varied from 
forty-five to eighty-seven seconds, at the end of which, if 
not before, in most instances, both conscious and organic 
life were absolutely extinct. 
In other words, the length of time which elapsed from 
the moment the prisoner entered the execution room until 
he was absolutely dead was, in Kemmler's case, eight min- 
utes ; in Slocum's, six minutes; in Smiler's, four minutes ; 
in Wood's, four minutes and ten seconds; in Jugigo's, 
three minutes and thirty seconds; in Loppy's, three min- 
* In view of the opinions expressed by electrical experts of the high- 
est standing, it had been previously agreed that contact should first be 
made by immersing the hands in two cells, containing tepid salt water, 
connected respectively with the opposite poles of the dynamo, and, in the 
event of this not causing cessation of the heart-beat, that recourse should 
be had to the mode of application through the head and leg employed 
in the previous executions at Sing Sing Prison. The apparatus was so 
arranged that either mode of application could be instantly employed at 
will. 14 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
utes fifty-three seconds and a half; and in McElvaine's, 
three minutes and fifty-eight seconds. 
It appears, therefore, that the time actually consumed 
in each of these seven executions, from the moment the 
prisoner entered the room until he was absolutely dead, 
varied from eight minutes in the longest to three and a half 
in the shortest, whereas executions by hanging usually re- 
quire from fifteen to thirty minutes. In fact, in hanging, it 
not infrequently happens that the heart continues to beat 
for that length of time after the fall of the fatal drop. 
Then, too, far more time is consumed in placing the pris- 
oner on the gallows, pinioning his limbs, putting on the 
black cap, placing the noose about his neck, and carefully 
adjusting the knot under his left ear (from whence it some- 
times slips at the critical moment, resulting in strangulation 
instead of a broken neck), than would be required for ar- 
ranging the preliminary details of an electrical execution. 
During the preparation of this report the Associated Press 
dispatches contained an account of a hanging in which the 
criminal's head was almost completely torn from the body. 
There are abundant reasons for believing that conscious 
life is destroyed so rapidly by electricity that the applica- 
tion of the current could be repeated several times within 
the interval that is known to elapse between the receipt of 
an injury or a peripheral sensory impression, and its con- 
scious perception by the brain through the medium of the 
sensory nerves. In other words, the electrical current 
would travel from the point of contact to the brain many 
times faster than sensory impressions or nerve currents 
would, the rate of velocity of the latter being, roughly 
speaking, only about one hundred and fifty-five feet per 
second-a rate which is quite slow in comparison with the 
lightning-like velocity of electricity, which travels at the 
rate of millions of feet per second. 
Thus it will readily be seen that an electrical current of 
lethal energy coming in contact with the body so as to in- 
clude the brain in the circuit would reach the latter and 
produce unconsciousness long, comparatively, before any 
sensory impression, at the point of contact or elsewhere, 
could be conveyed to and appreciated by that organ, 
through the process of nerve-conduction, which, as has been BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
15 
shown, requires a distinctly appreciable period of time, the 
rate of transmission of painful sensations being even slower 
than that of ordinary tactile impressions. 
A striking illustration of the relative slowness of nerve 
conduction as compared with electricity was shown in a series 
of experiments in instantaneous photography recently con- 
ducted by Professor Muybridge, in the following manner : 
The lantern was used to make a series of instantaneous 
photographs, and in order to make the intervals bet ween the ex- 
posures, as well as the periods of exposure, exceedingly short, 
the plates were exposed and stopped by means of an electric 
current. One very interesting series of pictures made was in- 
tended to illustrate the slowness of the brain in receiving im- 
pressions. Two women were employed; one stood in a bath- 
tub and the other sat on a raised chair and poured a bucket of 
water over the standing woman's head and shoulders. In order 
to make the shock more intense, Professor Muybridge had tilled 
the bucket with ice-water, unknown to the victim, who would 
not have awaited the douche so patiently had she known what 
its temperature was going to be. One view showed the water 
tipped over and falling, yet not quite touching the girl's head. 
The next view showed the water splashing from her head and 
shoulders, and yet there were no signs of sensation. In the 
third picture she was just beginning to respond to the shock, 
and the subsequent pictures illustrated the further phases of the 
response. The point of special interest, however, is in connec- 
tion with the second view. The electric current had in that 
case first exposed the plate, and then after a very short interval 
had shut it off again; that is to say, had acted twice with an 
interval of time between the two sufficiently long for the sensi- 
tive plate to take an impression of the view, and this after the 
ice-water had touched the woman's shoulders, and before she 
was conscious of it. 
Respecting the resistance offered to the current by the 
human body, Mr. A. E. Kennelly, of the Edison Laboratory, 
at Orange, N. J., and who witnessed the execution of Mc- 
Elvaine, in a contribution to the Electrical Engineer for 
February 17, 1892, says: 
The electrical pressure at the electrodes was determined 
from a Cardew voltmeter in circuit with a non-inductive re- 
sistance. The current passing through the electrodes was ob- 
served from a direct-reading dead-beat ammeter, and the indi- 
cations of these carefully calibrated instruments afford reliable 16 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
inferences as to the resistance of a human body, under definite 
conditions of surface contact, to an alternating current making 
some 150 periods per second. 
From the official records as already published it would ap- 
pear that in the first application the pressure at electrodes was 
maintained at approximately 1,600 volts, and the current, which 
commenced at 2'0 amperes, steadily increased during the fifty 
seconds of contact up to 3'1, indicating a resistance between 
electrodes diminishing from the initial value of 800 ohms to a 
final value of 516, a reduction during the interval of more than 
thirty-five per cent. The electrodes were metal plates in large 
wooden receptacles nearly filled with tepid salt water, and in 
which the hands of the criminal were immersed. Judging from 
the fact that, although the skin of the hands was blistered 
over the areas above the water level that had been wetted 
by first immersion and then withdrawn, yet the skin that re- 
mained immersed was entirely uninjured, it seems reasonable 
to suppose that no very large proportion of the whole re- 
sistance of the body would reside in the integuments at the 
electrodes. 
In the second application, forty-three seconds later, the 
pressure was observed to be maintained at approximately 1,500 
volts, and the current which passed between the forehead and 
the calf of the right leg continued at 7'0 amperes during the 
thirty-six seconds of contact, indicating a resistance practically 
steady at 214 ohms during that time. The electrodes were of 
sponge, kept thoroughly wetted with cool salt water and backed 
by metallic plates, the area covered by each being about 100 
square centimetres. Since no blistering took place immediately 
below the head electrode, although some blistering occurred at 
the other, it would appear that no large proportion of the total 
resistance existed in the contact areas. 
The mean activity developed in heat during the first appli- 
cation was thus 4,080 watts, and in the second 10,500 watts, or 
about 14 E. II. P., this large expenditure of energy accounting 
for the considerable post-mortem temperatures that are stated 
to have been observed. 
The average resistance of the human body between the 
hands, immersed to the wrists in dilute solutions of salt or soda, 
is often overstated in measurement, owing to the vitiating in- 
fluence of polarization on observations taken with feeble cur- 
rents in the Wheatstone bridge. Correct readings can, how- 
ever, be obtained either by bridge measurement to " immediate 
false zero," or by the use of large resistances inserted directly in 
the electrode circuit through a galvanometer, so as to employ a 
higher pressure without pain to the subject, and so reduce the in- BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
17 
fluence of the possible 2'5 volts of polarization counter E. M. F. 
In either case the mean resistance under these conditions is 
about 1,000 ohms. 
The inference appears to be drawn that the resistance of the 
body between hands to an alternating pressure of 1,500 volts is 
only about one half what it is to continuous pressures of 5 volts, 
or to alternating pressures of 2 or 3 volts, and, from the obser- 
vations above mentioned, it would seem that the resistance be- 
tween forehead and calf is very much lower than between im- 
mersed hands. While, in conclusion, the general belief is fur- 
ther substantiated that the quantity of current which may pass 
through the body from a contact with high pressures will en- 
tirely depend upon the area and moisture of the contact sur- 
faces, being large with extended and wet surfaces, but, perhaps, 
comparatively small for brief contacts on dry and limited sur- 
faces of touch. 
William Kemmler.-The autopsy, held about three 
hours post mortem, was by verba] direction of the warden 
officially in charge of the writer, and was performed by Dr. 
E. C. Spitzka, Dr. George F. Shrady, and Dr. W. T. Jen- 
kins, of New York, and Dr. C. M. Daniels and Dr. George 
E. Fell, of Buffalo, N. Y. Notes were taken by Dr. Shrady, 
from which the following is compiled : 
Body fairly well nourished. Rigor mortis marked, particular- 
ly in the muscles of the jaw, neck, and thorax, and gradually ex- 
tending from above downward, involving the feet and legs last. 
Post-mortem discoloration existed over lower portion (posterior 
and lateral aspects of trunk) of body, and extended up as far as 
the anterior axillary line, also on the pendent surfaces of the 
upper and lower extremities. The upper extremities were part- 
ly flexed and rotated outward, the nails showing post-mortem 
lividity. There was a seminal discharge, which, on microscopic 
examination, was found to contain a large quantity of dead 
spermatozoa. There was marked post mortem discoloration of 
the forehead, about an inch in width, corresponding with the 
position of the strap, beginning at the hair on the left side and 
extending to the hair line on the right side. A corresponding 
discoloration from the pressure of the chin strap was also noted. 
There was an oval depression of the scalp upon the vertex, due 
to the pressure of the electrode, beginning at the anterior hair 
line and measuring four inches in its long and three inches and a 
half in its short diameter. Anterior to the posterior portion of 
the depression and in the immediate line there was a vesication 
Autopsies. 18 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
an inch and a half in length, very superficial in character, cres- 
centic in shape, and upon which the hair appeared to be slightly 
scorched. On the small of the back, corresponding to the level 
of the fourth sacral vertebra below and second above, four inches 
and a half in vertical diameter and four inches and a half in 
transverse diameter, was a burn, presenting four concentric 
zones, of which the outermost had a pale area, corresponding 
to that of the rubber cap of the electrode, and one fourth of an 
inch in diameter. 
Succeeding this was a vesication, partial below and complete 
above, about an inch in diameter above and one third of an inch 
below. 
Then followed another zone, which was in its upper third 
a complete eschar, black in appearance, and in its lower part 
showed desiccation of a greenish-brown color. The last or in- 
ner zone showed a number of vesicles, chiefly peripheral, and 
below the center was a black eschar, half an inch in its vertical 
and five eighths of an inch in its transverse diameter. Above 
was a tongue-shaped, pale area, with a lateral projection to the 
left of the median line, extending about two inches, and an up- 
per projection in the dorsal furrow, which was more sharply 
pointed, and which on its periphery showed a reddened por- 
tion, with here and there vesication. In addition, the back 
showed a number of depressions produced by the folds of the 
shirt and suspenders, such as are commonly found in dead bodies 
lying on the back. 
On incising the skin over the sternum, the blood which es- 
caped was unusually dark and fluid, and remained so on exposure. 
The muscles of the thorax were of the usual color. " Tardieu 
spots " were noticed on the posterior border of the lower lobe 
of the left lung. When placed in water, more than half of the 
lung floated above the surface, showing a marked emphysema- 
tous condition. The bronchi were normal in appearance, and 
contained mucus and air bubbles. The right lung was adherent 
throughout to the diaphragm. In the middle lobe of this lung 
there were numerous well-marked " Tardieu spots." The heart 
weighed five ounces and three quarters; its valves and sub- 
stance were normal in appearance, and its ventricles were emp- 
ty. The stomach contained a pint of undigested food. The 
blood from the cut surface of the liver was of a dark-crimson 
hue. The gall-bladder was distended with bile. The spleen 
was normal in size and appearance. The left kidney weighed 
three ounces and a half, and the right three ounces; both were 
markedly congested. There was no vermicular action of the 
intestines on exposure to the air or on irritation. The bladder 
was contracted. BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
19 
The scalp, on being removed, showed the outer aspect of the 
vertex of the skull to be in a desiccated condition, correspond- 
ing with the site of the electrode as previously noted, but of a 
larger area, being four by four inches, the zone of the scalp 
being only two and a half by three inches, the long diameter 
being antero-posterior. On removal of the skull-cap, the dura 
was normal in texture, somewhat dull in color, particularly over 
the area corresponding with the zone of contact. In the pre- 
Rolandic region the meningeal vessels, measuring along the con- 
vexity antero-posteriorly four inches on the left side and three 
on the right, were filled with carbonized blood. On the internal 
aspect of the calvarium the meningeal vessels in the dura and in 
their contents appeared to be black and carbonized. The car- 
bonized vessels were so brittle that their ends were torn off 
with the calvarium and presented a broken, crummy appear- 
ance. This carbonization was limited in an abrupt manner. 
The other meningeal vessels in the region corresponding to the 
outer burn, previously described, contained blood of a dark- 
crimson hue. In the narrowest portion of this region was seen, 
a little posteriorly, in the median line, a dark discoloration send- 
ing out a right lateral prolongation three fourths of an inch in 
the direction of the longitudinal sinus, and in width seven 
eighths of an inch. Over the left cerebral hemisphere, one 
third of an inch to the left of the median line, there was a deep 
carbonized spot corresponding with the desiccated portion of 
the calvaria. The pia and gyri were of a pale-buff color; the 
rest of the cerebral cortex was normal in appearance. While 
observing this anaemic area it was noticed that its blood-vessels 
began to fill. The pia and arachnoid on the convexity of the 
brain were perfectly normal. An interesting fact was observed 
on handling the pons and medulla, in that they were found to 
be warm. By a thermometer inserted in the fourth ventricle, 
the temperature was noted at 97° F. The area of this tempera- 
ture corresponded with an area of temperature on the back of 
the neck which was noted at 99° F., three hours post mortem, 
the temperature of the room being 83° F. The smaller vessels 
of the pia were ectatic. Capillary haemorrhages were noted on 
the floor of the fourth ventricle, also in the third ventricle and the 
anterior portion of the lateral ventricle. The circumvascular 
spaces appeared to he distended with serum and hlood. The brain 
cortex in the area of contact was sensibly hardened to one sixth 
of its depth, where there was a broken line of vascularity. The 
vessels over the corpus striatum showed enlargements in differ- 
ent parts of their ramifications. The pons was slightly softened. 
The spinal cord was removed entire, but showed no gross ap- 
pearances of pathological condition. Portions of the brain and 20 
THE infliction of the deatii penalty 
spinal cord were preserved for purposes of hardening and micro- 
scopical examination. The blood taken immediately after death 
showed, under the microscope, a markedly granular condition, 
almost suggesting an electrolytic dissolution of the red cor- 
puscles. 
A preliminary microscopical examination of portions of 
the brain and spinal cord, including specimens from all the 
cerebral lobes of both sides, segments of the cervical, dor- 
sal, and lumbar regions of the spinal cord, with the con- 
nected nerve groups, was subsequently made by Dr. Spitzka, 
who states as follows : 
The brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves appeared 
structurally healthy in every portion examined, except in the 
area corresponding to the discolored (anaemic through extreme 
contraction of vascular channels) area of the Rolandic and pre- 
Rolandic regions, the ventricular surfaces, and the pons and 
medulla oblongata. The latter, which had been the seat of a 
remarkable post-mortem preservation of a temperature ap- 
proaching that of the normal human body, were distinctly softer 
than the observer has been accustomed to find these parts in 
autopsies on persons of Kemmler's age, and performed so soon 
after death. The haemorrhagic spots in the .fourth ventricle, 
which were strongly marked, were not accompanied by signs of 
parenchymatous rupture of larger vessels. Hence they may be 
regarded as having the same significance as the " taches de Tar- 
dieur' found on the surfaces of other organs-notably, the heart 
and lungs. 
The peculiar softened vesicular zone of tissue underlying 
the outermost layer of the cerebral cortex being very fragile,' 
will require extreme care in hardening and manipulation to en- 
able me to obtain reliable specimens. It is noteworthy that 
this "destruction line" runs parallel to the free surface of the 
brain and does not "dip" with the sulci. 
Examination of the fresh specimen revealed the existence 
of vacuoles (probably gas bubbles) in the ganglion cells and in 
the parenchyma of the " destruction line." From the fact that 
no haemorrhages had occurred in this softened area, it is a just 
inference that it was produced afterlife had become entirely ex- 
tinct, for the continuance of a blood circulation in a softened 
brain area is incompatible with the bloodless appearance al- 
ready noted and the absence of capillary haemorrhages in this 
• very district while they were present in those remote from the 
site of the electrode. BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
21 
A more minute analysis will be completed, but can not be 
reported until some future time. 
That the " cooked " appearance of the muscular tissue 
of the back beneath the site of the electrode, and the desic- 
cation of the skull and so-called " carbonized " state of the 
blood-vessels on the internal aspect of the calvaria over 
the area corresponding to the zone of contact, were due to 
the unduly prolonged second contact, together with failure 
to properly moisten the electrodes, there can be no ques- 
tion, no such results having been observed in any of the 
subsequent cases, the surface lesion in these latter being 
limited .to superficial vesication of the skin at the points of 
application of the electrodes, as will presently appear. 
. All of the subsequent autopsies, including the micro- 
scopical examinations, were made by Dr. Ira Van Gieson, 
of the Pathological Laboratory of the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons, and are here described substantially in Dr. 
Van Gieson's language. 
Schichiok Jugigo.-The post-mortem examination in this case 
was held four hours after death. The pupils were alike and 
moderately contracted. The body was well nourished and un- 
usually well developed. The anterior epithelial cells of the 
cornea had desquamated from the central portion by the action 
of heat. There was a bulging forward of the sclera of the left 
eye at the left sclero-corneal junction. Conjunctiva anaemic. 
The scalp and skin covering the neck had a dull, purplish hue. 
The skin of the anterior surface of the body was not discolored 
or ecchymosed. At the flexure of both elbows were a number 
of symmetrical linear ecchymoses, which were more marked on 
the right side. Also a curved, narrow ecchymotic line just be- 
low the outside of the right nipple. These probably were 
caused by the straps. At the posterior .surface of the right 
knee-joint, and on the posterior and inner and upper surface of 
the calf, the epidermis was raised, wrinkled, and folded. At 
the flexure of the knee joint the epidermis had been torn away 
to the extent of about an inch in diameter. The right lower 
extremity was flexed and bent more to the median line than 
its fellow. There is a slight discharge of thin, milky fluid 
from the urethra and some still remaining in the canal. A 
sample of this fluid was taken for microscopical examination. 
Post-mortem rigidity well marked except in the arms, where it 
was only slight. The whole posterior surface of neck, trunk, 
arms, and lower extremities was of a dull, purplish hue. There 22 
THE infliction of the death penalty 
were a few slight blisters on both temples, and both cheeks and 
eyelids. There were raised whitish streaks on both sides of the 
neck, just below the angle of the jaw. 
The trunk was opened by a straight incision from the top of 
the sternum to the pubes. The fat was an inch thick over the 
abdomen. Muscles red and firm. Diaphragm at left side was 
found at the level of the sixth intercostal space, and on the 
right side at the fifth intercostal space. Portions of small in- 
testine were taken for microscopical examination. 
Examination of heart: Auricles and ventricles flaccid and in 
diastole and filled with fluid blood. The larger vessels were 
tied and the heart removed. The left ventricle was well filled 
with fluid blood but no clots. The auricles were the same. 
The blood was of the same color in the left ventricle as in the 
right. Valves normal. On opening the vessels, a large quan- 
tity of dark-colored liquid blood escaped, half filling the pleural 
cavity. There were no pleural adhesions. Lungs perfectly 
healthy, but slightly congested. 
The spleen was found to be of normal size, the capsule 
smooth, pulp firm, and uniformly tilled with blood, and the ar- 
rangement of the Malpighian bodies and splenic connective tis- 
sue entirely normal. 
The pancreas was perfectly normal and a portion removed 
for microscopical examination. 
Liver entirely normal, and a portion was also removed for 
microscopical examination. 
The gall-bladder was filled with bile. 
Left kidney: The capsule was non-adherent. It was rather 
large and the cortex of normal thickness. The kidney was 
uniformly injected and the markings in the cortex were normal 
as to number and arrangement. The right kidney was in the 
same condition. * 
The stomach was empty, the mucous membrane pale; the 
rugae were well marked and perfectly healthy. 
The intestines were healthy. The small intestines were filled 
with semi-fluid faeces. The large intestines showed the same 
condition. 
The urinary bladder was normal and half full. 
Examination of brain : The brain was exposed by a straight 
incision of scalp over the vertex from ear to ear, and saw cuts 
through the skull at a slight angle and at the level of the eye- 
brows. The scalp showed several old scars, and was slightly 
less adherent under those portions where the electrode was at- 
tached. The skull was symmetrical. The dura mater was 
normal and the vessels1 moderately dilated. The longitudinal 
sinus was found to be normal and contained some fluid blood. BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
23 
The brain was removed in the usual way. The pia mater was 
uniformly thin and transparent; the vessels in a medium state 
of congestion; subpial fluid small in amount. The blood was 
everywhere fluid in the meshes of the pia mater. There was 
no apparent difference in that portion which the electrode 
covered. The vessels at the base were perfectly normal. The 
ventricles contained a small amount of clear fluid. The roof 
and floor of the lateral ventricles were normal. The ependy- 
ma was smooth and transparent. White substance firm. 
Gray matter normal in every respect. Floor of the fourth 
ventricle at the upper half contained some dilated vessels, and 
on the left side there were a number of minute, radiating pe- 
techial spots from one to two millimetres in diameter. (See 
Fig. 1.) 
The spinal cord was exposed in the usual manner. The ex- 
ternal appearance of both cord and membranes was entirely 
normal, and the vessels containing, if anything, even less blood 
than usual, due, probably, to the short time that had elapsed be- 
tween the occurrence of death and the holding of the autopsy. 
Sections half an inch apart showed nothing abnormal. A por- 
tion of both sciatic nerves was taken for microscopical exami- 
nation. 
Owing to the great length of time necessary to make this 
autopsy as completely and minutely as was done, and the sub- 
sequent careful microscopical examinations, it was not consid- 
ered necessary to examine the brain and spinal cord in the 
other cases, especially as nothing of any importance had been 
observed in these organs in this case. 
Harris A. Smiler.-Posterior surface of the body was of the 
same color, and also showed the same blisters as in the case of 
Jugigo. The left leg showed the same state of contraction. 
The body was opened by the long, straight incision, as in the 
case of Jugigo. The diaphragm was found at the left side at 
the sixth intercostal space and on the right side at the fifth 
intercostal space. The left lung was slightly adherent at the 
apex. The heart was rather small. The left ventricle was 
somewhat firmer than the right, which latter was a little flabby. 
The auricles were distended with fluid blood. The right ventri- 
cle was empty and collapsed. The apex of the left hing was 
small and shrunken and retracted, and contained a few small, 
scattered, dense, tubercular nodules, some of which were calci- 
fied. Otherwise the lung was normal and resembled the pre- 
ceding case. Right lung shows the same set of changes, but not 
so marked. Small ecchymotic spots (Tardieu's spots) were ob- 
served under the pericardium on surface of left ventricle. The, 
walls of the ventricles were of normal thickness. There were 24 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
signs of an old endocarditis below the aortic valves. All the 
valves were healthy. 
The spleen was small and the pulp soft and normal. 
The pancreas was normal. 
The liver was normal both in size and texture. 
The left kidney was greatly hypertrophied and the capsule 
non-adherent. The cortex was somewhat thickened and the 
markings distinct and regular; moderately congested. The 
right kidney was small, two and a half by three quarters of an 
inch in size, and weighed forty-eight grammes-less than an ounce 
and three quarters. The tissue was normal, but the kidney was 
apparently congenitally small. 
Intestines.-Descending colon was filled with gas; ascend- 
ing colon and small intestine pallid and contained semi-fluid ma- 
terial. 
Stomach contained undigested food, potatoes, etc. Mucous 
membrane pale and coated with a thin layer of slimy mucus. 
Bladder distended with urine. Walls and mucous membrane 
normal. 
Examination of brain and cord deemed unnecessary. The 
blood was fluid everywhere and darker than normal. 
Joseph Wood.-Autopsy held at 1.25 p. m. 
Body presented same appearance as in preceding cases. 
There was the same contraction of the legs and the same gen- 
eral appearance as in the others. Same condition of epithelium 
of cornea. 
Median incision made as in other cases. Diaphragm attached 
to fifth intercostal space on both sides. There were half a dozen 
scattered petechial points found under the pericardium, half a 
millimetre in diameter. On the anterior surface of both ven- 
tricles and on the posterior surface of the left ventricle were five 
scattered similar points. On the posterior surface of the right 
ventricle were three similar small points and one larger, three 
millimetres and a half in diameter. 
Heart normal in size and condition of ventricles the same as 
in the case of Smiler. Both lungs were free from adhesions. 
The right lung, bronchi, pulmonary vessels, and lung tissue were 
normal, but somewhat more pigmented than usual. The sub- 
stance of the lung was dry and dark pink in color. Heart mus- 
cles pale and firm and of normal thickness. All the valves were 
normal. 
Spleen was normal in size and dark red in color, and showed 
two thickened white patches on capsule. The pulp was firm. 
The pancreas was normal. 
The liver was normal in every respect. 
Both kidneys normal in every respect. BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
25 
Nothing abnormal was found in the intestines. 
The gall-bladder was distended with normal bile. 
The urinary bladder was of normal thickness, but the mucous 
membrane was considerably congested. 
The brain and cord were not examined. 
James J. Slocum.-Autopsy held at 1.45 p. m. There were 
the same blisters and external appearances as in the others. 
There was also the same appearance of cornea. Median incision 
was made as in the other cases. 
Heart.-Petechial spots scattered about as in the other cases, 
and were also observed under the pulmonary pleura. The left 
ventricle was firmly contracted, while the right was flabby. 
Both auricles, especially the right one, were filled with fluid 
blood. The left lung was free from adhesions. The upper lobe 
of right lung was slightly adherent. The left lung was in the 
same condition as the others, but slightly cedematous. The right 
lung was in the same condition. There was a well-marked large 
group of petechial spots at the center of anterior surface of left 
ventricle. 
The spleen was of normal size, with the pulp soft, of dark- 
red color and somewhat congested. 
Pancreas was normal both on the surface and on section. 
The gall-bladder was half full of bile and the common duct 
patulous. 
The liver was normal in every respect. 
The left kidney was very much congested, but normal in all 
other respects. 
The right kidney was in a similar condition. 
A careful examination of the intestines showed nothing ab- 
normal. 
The bladder was collapsed and normal. 
The trachea was normal. 
Microscopical Examination. 
The practical results of the microscopical examination are, 
that the passage of the electric current through the body is at- 
tended with no recognizable changes in its tissues or organs, ex- 
cepting the local thermic changes in the skin at the points of 
application of the electrodesand some minute petechial spots on 
several of the organs. 
Such a summary of the examination, however, seems insuffi- 
cient without adding that it was determined by most exhaustive 
and modern investigation, and as there are apparently no re- 
corded examinations of similar cases in medical literature, it 
seems not inappropriate to give the detailed report subjoined, 26 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
showing in what way and to what extent the tissues were ex 
amined. 
Specimens were taken from all four of the subjects, but the 
material from the Japanese criminal was especially selected for 
minute study, as it could be obtained the soonest after death. 
Notes about the technical preparation of tissues are added 
at the conclusion of the report. 
The Examination of the Cells in General.-For this purpose 
the ciliated cells of the trachea, the liver cells, and the ganglion 
cells were studied especially with the oil-immersion lens. The 
physical properties of the protoplasm are in no way changed. 
The arrangement of the protoplasm, its volume, consistency, its 
behavior with light and staining reagents, are not at all different 
from the ordinary cell body. The same may be said of the con- 
stituent elements of the nucleus. None of the cells in any of 
the tissues examined show any signs of mechanical violence, such 
as tearing, fracture, or disintegration of the protoplasm. Neither 
does there appear to be any chemical change in the nucleus or 
cell body, as far as can be determined with micro-chemical 
methods. (The cells thus studied were prepared with solutions 
of corrosive sublimate, and also osmic acid.) 
The Blood.-The blood cells are not damaged in any way by 
the current. The red cells have their normal size and shape. 
The white cells are uniformly, spherical and have the usual ar- 
rangement of the nuclei. The blood was very perfectly pre- 
served, even the blood plaques being unchanged. 
The stomach, small intestine, and kidney are unchanged, 
with the exception of a slight amount of post-mortem degenera- 
tion in the parenchyma cells. The stomach shows the appear- 
ances of functional activity. 
The liver and pancreas and spleen show no changes. 
The Muscular System.-The smooth muscles, studied from 
the gastro-intestinal tracts and the heart muscle fibers, are un- 
changed. 
In sections of the eyelid lying directly beneath the electrode 
the voluntary muscle fibers are normal. 
The blood-vessels are not altered. The lungs and genital 
organs were not examined microscopically. The fluid ejaculated 
from the urethra in the case of the Japanese criminal does not 
show spermatozoa. 
The central nervous system was examined with especial care. 
It has recently been determined that, during periods of muscular 
fatigue or prolonged muscular exertion, certain of the motor- 
ganglion cells are diminished in volume, which is recovered 
again during periods of muscular repose. Speaking roughly, 
this shrinkage of the ganglion cells during muscular fatigue BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
27 
represents a sort of mechanical equivalent of the work done by 
the muscles. Hodge (Am. Jour, of Psychology, May, 1888, 1889, 
and 1891), in inducing experimentally the effects of fatigue in 
ganglion cells by the prolonged action of weak electrical cur- 
rents, found that the ganglion cells suffered a vacuolation, 
shrinkage in the volume of the cell body, and a still greater 
reduction in the size of the nucleus. This diminution of the • 
ganglion cell was tangible enough and could be measured, and 
in some cases in Hodge's experiments with the current on cats 
the nucleus shrank to 43'9 per cent, of its original bulk. 
Although it could hardly be expected that there would be 
time enough for the ganglion cells of these criminals to show 
traces of the intense muscular contractions, yet the ganglion 
cells of the central convolutions and the anterior spinal cornua 
were very carefully examined to see if there would be any 
shrinkage coincident with the expenditure of so great an amount 
of muscular energy as was manifested during the contacts. 
The ganglion cells in these regions, however, as far as can 
be determined by careful comparison with sections from the 
same regions in other ordinary healthy subjects, seem to be nor- 
mal in size, or at least do not show any striking reduction in 
volume. A slight shrinkage may be present, but it would be 
almost impossible to determine it from the lack of a normal 
standard to make measurements with. Concerning this sus- 
pected change in the ganglion cells, then, it may be said that if 
there is any shrinkage at all, it is of very limited extent. 
At the autopsy some minute petechial spots were found on 
the floor of the fourth ventricle (Fig. 1).* Microscopically, 
these spots are small masses of extravasated red blood-cells, 
situated, for the most part, in the perivascular spaces just be- 
neath the ependyma. 
The diagrams show the distribution and character of those 
haemorrhages well enough, so that we may omit detailed de- 
scription of them. A few of the extravasations are more deeply 
situated and have a more significant position with regard to 
the important nuclear groups in the medulla. Fig. 2a shows 
one of the haemorrhages just on the outskirts of the sensory 
vagus, and other smaller ones close to the hypoglossal nuclei. 
The extravasation near the vagus is confined by the perivascular 
space of the median lateral artery of the medulla, which takes 
the course of the dotted line x, y, in Fig. 2. 
These haemorrhages look as if due to the passage of blood 
along the perivascular spaces, and out into the tissues after 
rupture of a small vein or capillary, but whether any especial 
* The plates are from drawings by Dr. Van Gieson. 28 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
significance should be attached to these haemorrhages, or wheth- 
er they are caused directly by the current, or by intense muscu- 
lar tension, or by manipulation in removing the brain, are ques- 
tions extremely difficult to decide about. 
The Peripheral Nerves.-The sciatic nerves from both sides 
were examined without finding any change or difference be- 
tween the sciatic of the electrode side and its fellow. 
The delicate structures of the retina lying so close to the 
electrode are not altered. 
The skin beneath the electrode is but slightly changed. The 
epidermis is absent or raised up from the corium and has a 
dried-up appearance. The corium, structurally, is nearly nor- 
mal ; the connective-tissue nuclei are not shrunken and stain 
well, but the connective-tissue bundles and fibers seemed changed 
chemically and behave abnormally with certain staining re- 
agents. The sweat glands are degenerated to a considerable 
extent; they have a desiccated appearance. 
It would then appear from this examination that, beyond 
the scalding effects of the electrodes, electric currents passed 
through the body in this way produce no change in the body 
except minute petechise, and it is doubtful if these are not some 
indirect or secondary consequence of the current. The results 
of the microscopical examination of the two remaining subjects 
-Loppy and McElvaine-are corroborative in every way of 
this examination. 
It seems proper to add that the central nervous system of 
only one of these four cases was removed, because nothing was 
found in it which would receive any further elucidation from 
the examination of the other three cases. 
Methods of the Preparation of the Specimens. 
The Blood.-Two drops from a glass rod dipped in the 
freshly ent right ventricle were received in a one-per-cent, 
aqueous osmic-acid solution. 
The sciatic nerves were prepared in the same medium by 
gently pulling short fasciculi out of their lamellar sheaths, al- 
lowing the acid to penetrate. 
The Central Nervous System.-Thin shavings of the con- 
volutions and of the cervical spinal cord were placed in alco- 
holic and aqueous solutions of corrosive sublimate of different 
strength for periods of time varying from an hour to several 
days. Exceedingly small portions of the gray matter were also 
hardened in Fleming's osmic-acid mixture and in one-per-cent, 
osmic-acid solution for half an hour. All of the specimens were 
subsequently hardened in eighty per cent., and then in strong 
alcohol. BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
29 
Still other portions of the convolutions were scraped gently 
with a sharp razor, so that the gray matter was reduced to a 
thick pulpy broth on the edge of the razor. This pulp was then 
shaken into exceedingly fine fragments in osmic acid and subli- 
mate solutions, so that the fixation of the ganglion cells would be 
as nearly as possible uniform and instantaneous. (Incidentally,, 
attention may be called to this method as giving very good re- 
sults for ganglion cells, and being much better than the ordi- 
nary methods of hardening the cortex in blocks, no matter how 
small.) 
The medulla and portions of the cord were also hardened in 
Mtiller's fluid in the usual way. The trachea, thoracic and ab- 
dominal viscera were prepared in sublimate solution, and also 
with strong alcohol in the ordinary way. Portions of the spleen, 
pancreas, and liver were also injected interstitially with osmic- 
acid solution. The eyeball, eyelid, and singed portions of the 
integument beneath the electrodes, were prepared with Muller's 
fluid. 
All of these variously hardened portions of the tissues 
were imbedded in celloidin and sections stained appro- 
priately with several different methods, such as Weigert's 
method, double staining, with hamiatoxylon and eosin, and 
also with the picro-acid fuchsin method. 
Martin D. Loppy.-Autopsy held as soon as practicable after 
breaking of the last current. Subject somewhat below the 
medium stature. Body well nourished. Muscular system well 
developed. Rigor mortis almost completely, if not entirely, ab- 
sent, except in the right leg, where there is sufficient muscular 
rigidity to hold the leg slightly adducted and flexed at the knee 
joint. The mouth and nostrils are perfectly natural, and show 
no traces of the extrusion of fluids or frothy material. About 
a drachm of viscid fluid, wetting the skin of the pubic begionr 
has escaped from the urethra. 
There are no discolorations, contusions, or other marks on 
the skin, except in two places-viz., (1) at the flexure of the 
right knee, where the lower electrode was applied, and (2) upon 
the cheeks, corresponding to the position of one of the restrain- 
ing straps. The unexposed surfaces of the skin are everywhere 
else smooth, 'white, rather thin, and delicate in structure, and 
show no settling of blood in the dependent portions of the 
body. 
At the flexure (or back part of the knee joint), where the 
lower electrode was applied, there is a diffuse reddish discolora- 
tion of the skin about three inches and a half by five inches in 30 
the infliction of the death penalty 
diameter. This region of the skin shows a very moderate, su- 
perficial, irregular separation of the thin outer scarf skin or 
epidermis from the true and thicker skin beneath. The epi- 
dermis or scarf skin in this region is raised up and corrugated, 
and it can be easily rubbed off with slight force. When the 
whole thickness of the skin is cut through with a knife, it can 
be seen that this change is quite superficial, affecting the outer 
scarf skin only, and does not damage the corium or true skin 
beneath to any appreciable extent. 
The corium or true thicker skin underlying the electrode re- 
gion is soft, pliable, not desiccated, and seems to be normal in 
every way, except that it is somewhat congested, which pro- 
duces the reddish discoloration in this region. 
The layer of fat beneath the skin in the electrode region is 
in no way changed or damaged. 
The head electrode has left no traces upon the skin. The 
forehead and scalp beneath the electrode are perfectly white and 
natural, and there are absolutely none of the superficial altera- 
tions referred to above at the knee joint. 
There is redness and swelling of both cheeks just beneath 
the eyes, which is very moderate in extent and not enough to 
make any distortion of the face. This was occasioned by press- 
ure against one of the leather restraining straps during the pe- 
riods of muscular activity when the current was applied. 
The right eye had been lost some time previously during life. 
The eyelids are closed; skin of eyelids intact. Anterior cor- 
neal epithelium of the left eye cloudy, but not detached. The 
eyeball is perfectly natural; it has the proper tension and con- 
tour. 
The interior of the mouth is normal. The tongue and the 
teeth show no signs whatsoever of injury. 
The body was opened in the usual way. The abdominal or- 
gans were critically examined first, then the thoracic viscera, 
and finally the brain and upper portion of the spinal cord. 
The stomach is normal; it is much contracted, rather small; 
mucosa pallid ; fundus smooth; pyloric extremity folded. 
The small intestine is normal, contracted, upper portion 
nearly empty, lower portion partially filled with semi-fluid faecal 
matter. 
The spleen contains, just beneath the normal capsule, several 
larger and smaller haemorrhagic spots, from one millimetre to 
three millimetres in diameter, such as are not infrequently found 
after death from a variety of causes. The substance of the spleen 
is normal. 
The pancreas is normal in size and texture. 
The liver is normal in size, and uniformly filled with blood; BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
31 
cut surface smooth, stroma and parenchyma unchanged. Gall- 
bladder normal; partially filled with bile. 
The kidneys are of medium size; capsules non-adherent; 
vessels well filled ; the cortex is normal in thickness, and has its 
constituent elements properly arranged. 
The suprarenal capsules are unchanged. 
The urinary bladder shows no abnormities; it is much con- 
tracted and its mucosa pallid. 
Heart.-The left ventricle is firmly contracted and empty; 
both auricles and the left ventricle are flaccid. The right ven- 
tricle contains a little fluid blood. Two small thickened patches 
of old endocarditis are at the base of the aortic valve. The 
heart muscle is firm and normal. 
The diaphragm stands at the level of the sixth intercos- 
tal space on the left side, and at the sixth rib on the right 
side. 
The lungs are non-adherent, pale, normal in size, texture, 
and consistence. 
The trachea, oesophagus, and aorta are normal. 
The vocal cords are in cadaveric position. 
Brain and Spinal Cord.-The brain was removed in the or- 
dinarily practiced method, and the scalp, pericranium, and skull 
show no effects of the head electrode. Skull brachycephalic. 
Dura mater of convexity normal. Longitudinal sinus normal; 
contains a little fluid blood. Pia mater not thickened, but con- 
tains a number of nebulous strife and opacities uniformly scat- 
tered over the whole convexity. There was considerable sub- 
pial fluid. Both this change in the pia mater and the increased 
subpial fluid are referable to some pre-existing condition, and 
are such as are not infrequently found in persons having the 
age and intemperate habits of this subject. 
Convolutions of the brain have the normal topographical 
distribution ; substance of brain normal, both as to the condi- 
tions of the blood-vessels and the character of both the gray 
and white matter. Vessels at base normal. Lateral ventricles 
contain a slight amount of clear fluid. Ependyma of all ventri- 
cles unchanged. Floor of fourth ventricle normal. 
The right optic nerve-corresponding to the lost eye-is 
atrophied, having about half of its ordinary thickness. The 
medulla, pons, and basal ganglia show no abnormities. (These 
were referred to Dr. Brill for microscopical examination.) 
There is an old healed fracture extending across the right 
orbital process of the frontal bone, one centimetre from the 
median line, which extends backward and outward nearly to 
the apex of the petrous portion of the temporal bone for a dis- 
tance of about five centimetres. The dura mater along the track 32 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
of this old fracture is slightly thickened (to the extent of three 
millimetres) and adherent to the bone. 
The superior portion of the spinal cord shows no changes in 
its coverings, vessels, or substance. 
The muscles were critically examined to determine if there 
were any signs of violence induced by the current or the con- 
traction it caused, and with a negative result. The muscles of 
the chest, abdomen, and calf were normal, bright red, firm, and 
show not the slightest tearing or rupture. 
Remarks.-In looking carefully over the details of this au- 
topsy and comparing this report with that of the four previous 
cases of infliction of the death penalty by electricity, the fol- 
lowing points may be noted : 
1. The passage of an electrical current of the pressure em- 
ployed in these cases (of approximately from 1,400 to 1,700 
volts) and in this manner does not do any damage to any of the 
internal organs, tissues, or muscles. None of these parts are 
lacerated or changed in volume; neither are there any gross 
chemical or morphological changes or alteration of their finer 
structural features. 
2. The local thermic effects of the electrodes are limited to 
the outer scarf skin. The true skin beneath is not damaged to 
any appreciable extent. The epidermis or scarf skin may be 
separated from the deeper skin, and resembles in this way an 
ordinary blister from which the fluid has escaped. The blisters 
about the knee in this case are like the ordinary familiar water 
blisters on the hands from friction, or the blisters which physi- 
cians often have occasion to produce in their treatment of dis- 
ease. Where the skin has been exposed to the weather, and is 
tougher and more resistant, as on the forehead and scalp, the 
blistering does not take place, whereas in the more sensitive 
delicate skin of unexposed surfaces, as at the fold of the knee 
joint or the calf, the superficial blistering is more readily in- 
duced. Compared with the four previous executions, the 
changes in the skin induced by the local thermic action of the 
electrode are even still less in degree in this case, and may be 
pronounced altogether trivial. 
3. The occurrence and distribution of the minute htemor- 
rhagic spots (described more completely in the previous cases) 
are not a uniform or constant feature in these cases, and as they 
are found after death from the greatest variety of causes, they 
can not properly be regarded as positively characteristic of 
death by this method. 
4. The attitude of the body on the autopsy table is peculiar 
and very uniform. When the electrodes are applied at the knee BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
33 
flexure, the leg is invariably slightly flexed at the knee and a 
trifle adducted. 
Charles McElraine.-Approximately two to three minutes 
after the breaking of the last current the reflex action of the 
voluntary muscles was tested as follows: 
1. The patellar reflex was tried in the usual way without any 
response from the muscles either in the knee of the electrode 
side, which was rigid, or the knee of the other side, which was 
relaxed. 
2. The cornea was touched with the finger without eliciting 
any exertion from the muscles of the eyelids. 
3. The nipples were pinched with a forceps, and the sur- 
rounding skin was scratched and lightly scarified with fine scis- 
sors ; but this did not induce any motion of the muscle groups, 
or even any fine fibrillary twitching of the individual fibers of 
the subjacent muscles. 
4. One of the muscles of the abdomen (the rectus) was ex- 
posed, but showed no activity when cut or irritated with the 
knife. Voluntary muscle reflexes to ordinary stimuli were ab- 
sent. The activity of smooth or involuntary muscle was not 
interfered with; thus peristalsis of the intestinesand the cre- 
masteric reflex could be excited. 
After these tests the autopsy was made immediately. 
I. External Appearances of the Body.-The subject is a trifle 
below the medium stature, well nourished, has no deformities, 
and has well-developed muscular system. The lips are pallid, 
but the nostrils and interior of the mouth are perfectly natural. 
The left eyelid is quite firmly closed, while the other lid is 
partly open. The delicate membrane coating the front of the 
cornea has not been disturbed by the head electrode. The 
pupils are about midway open, nearly uniform, and measure 
about two millimetres and a half in diameter. The eyeballs are 
natural. There is no distortion of the face, such as muscular 
contractions or marks of violence, to mar the countenance. 
Rigor mortis is marked only where the current was applied; 
the electrode leg is flexed at the knee joint at an angle of about 
90°, and is a trifle adducted. The arms, which received the first 
contact, are less flexed than the knee joint, and the fingers are 
almost completely closed in the palm of the hand. 
There are no evidences of a seminal emission. 
The skin is everywhere perfectly natural, except at the 
points of application of the electrodes, and here there are some 
superficial changes in the outer layers of the skin. In these 
places, at the back part of the right knee joint and on the upper 
surface of the wrists (where the first contact was made), the 34 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
thin outer scarf skin is wrinkled and raised up or partially de- 
tached from the true or deeper skin beneath. 
These superficial patches on the skin in the electrode regions 
are not extensive and do not measure more than two to two 
inches and a half in diameter. In order to see if these patches 
involved the skin beyond the outer layers, the whole skin was cut 
through with the knife and looked at critically. It was then 
seen that the deeper layers of the skin were but very little in- 
volved. The deeper or true skin is in places in these patches 
a little drier than it ought to be, and this is all. The layer of fat 
beneath the slightly superficially damaged patches on the skin is 
perfectly normal in every way. 
II. Examination of the Thoracic and Abdominal Organs. 
-There is very little to be said about the examination of these 
organs other than that they were subjected to a thoroughly 
detailed systematic scrutiny, and nothing abnormal was found 
either about their shape, consistency, or texture, except the left 
ventricle of the heart was firmly contracted, while the right 
ventricle was flaccid. Valves and heart muscle normal. 
The left kidney (measuring 6x13 centimetres in diameter) 
contained a number of larger and smaller cavities (the largest 
one centimetre and a half in diameter) near the region of the 
pelvis, some of which contain calculi. Such a condition of the 
kidney is due to an old chronic previous process, and is to be 
expected in persons who develop calculi in the kidney. 
All of the viscera and organs of the thorax and abdomen, 
were examined. 
III. The Central Nervous System.-The brain is brachyce- 
phalic and is perfectly normal as to its coverings, in the disposi- 
tion and structure of its blood-vessels, in the arrangement of 
the convolutions, fissures, and sulci, and in the texture and rela- 
tive distribution of the gray and white matter. The fourth 
ventricle and its floor are normal. The superior portion of the 
spinal cord is normal. (The brain was not completely dissected, 
in order that it might be transported to Professor Donaldson, of 
Olarke University.) The brain with the pia weighed, on scales 
weighing to half a gramme, 1,442 grammes. The dura mater 
weighed 52 grammes. 
IV. The Muscular System.-The muscles are red and firm 
and show no signs of tearing, rupture, or haemorrhage. 
Conclusion.-As might naturally have been expected, 
the adoption and successful inauguration of this new 
method of capital punishment has not been accomplished 
without encountering vigorous opposition, amounting in 
some instances to violent and apparently malicious denun- BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
35 
ciation of the acts and motives of those who were called 
upon to act as principals in carrying out a law the estab- 
lishment of which must eventually be regarded as an im- 
portant advance in criminal jurisprudence in the direction 
of a higher civilization. But even to-day, despite the wide 
publication of unofficial reports, proclaiming the method a 
failure and apparently designed to invest it with an air of 
repulsion, brutality, and horror, it is conceded by substan- 
tially all unprejudiced individuals who have witnessed these 
executions, or who are reliably informed as to the facts re- 
lating thereto, as well as by a large and increasing propor- 
tion of the daily press, that the intent of the law to effect 
sudden and painless death has been fully attained in each 
instance. That a method of judicially inflicting the pen- 
alty of death in punishment of the crime of murder will 
ever be devised which in its operation shall be divested 
of that sense of awe and dread usually experienced, espe- 
cially by laymen, when in the presence of death, is not to 
be expected; and even were it possible, the wisdom of 
such a method might well be questioned, so long as the 
welfare and protection of society require the infliction of 
such a penalty to deter men from committing murder. 
It should be borne in mind that up to the time of 
Kemmler's execution there was no recorded instance of 
death having been deliberately effected on the human sub- 
ject by this method, the only knowledge on the subject be- 
ing derived from experiments on lower animals and from 
observations in cases of death from accidental contact with 
live electric wires and from such deductions as could logic- 
ally be made from technical knowledge of electro-motive 
force; hence the first execution by electricity was neces- 
sarily to some extent experimental and attended with possi- 
ble elements of uncertainty, owing in part to crudeness in 
the law and in part to certain minor defects in the arrange- 
ment and operation of the apparatus and to the inexperience 
of those in charge. In spite of these defects, however, the 
important fact remains that the prisoner was instantly ren- 
dered unconscious and death was painless. 
Of the nearly one hundred physicians, many of whom 
are eminent members of their profession, who have wit- 
nessed one or more of these executions, only two have dis- 36 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 
sented in any essential particular from the conclusion that 
this mode of inflicting the death penalty destroys conscious 
and organic life, both aggregate and segregate, with a sud- 
denness and thoroughness that is not attained by any other 
known method. One of these gentlemen, a distinguished 
surgeon and an ardent opponent of capital punishment in 
any form, witnessed the Kemmler execution, and while con- 
curring in the general opinion that unconsciousness was in- 
stantly produced by the first contact, still thought there was 
a possibility that resuscitation might have been accom- 
plished by means of hypodermic injections of brandy- 
that is, after the first contact. The other dissenting physi- 
cian, who is an advocate of the execution of criminals by 
means of suffocation with toxic gases, witnessed the execu- 
tion of McElvaine. lie also agreed that unconsciousness 
was instantly produced by the first contact, but thought 
that the second shock was required to effect absolute death. 
There is no reason to doubt the sincerity of either of these 
gentlemen. 
Dr. Van Gieson, in his official report of the McElvaine 
autopsy, in speaking of the rapid abolition of reflex action 
of the voluntary muscles, says : 
This tends to show how superlatively complete and far- 
reaching the effects of the currents are in abolishing life, not 
only in the concrete form, but also in the integral activities of 
the body which in other forms of sudden and violent death is 
liable to persist for a time after life is extinct. From observa- 
tions at this execution, as well as at the subsequent examination 
of the body, the current appears at first not only to extinguish 
life in the ordinary sense of the word, so far as consciousness, 
feeling, and volition are concerned, with overwhelming sudden- 
ness, but reaches beyond this and destroys the energies of the 
individual component parts of the body so that they can not be 
raised into activity by artificial mechanical stimulation, as is usu- 
ally the case in sudden violent death. 
The experience thus far had has demonstrated that the 
only reasonable objection to so-called " electrocution "-at 
least so far as the individual is concerned-as compared 
with other modes of inflicting the death penalty, lies in the 
fact that the application of a current of lethal energy re- 
sults in the generation of heat at the point of contact, and, 
if sufficiently prolonged, is attended with vesication of the BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
37 
skin at that point, owing to the temperature of the moist- 
ure on the electrodes becoming elevated to the boiling point, 
while if the sponges are allowed to dry out, local burning 
may occur. This occurs, however, if at all, toward the end 
of the contact and long, comparatively, after conscious life 
is extinct; hence the objection is, after all, merely a senti- 
mental one. Furthermore, it may reasonably be assumed 
that a method of avoiding this local thermal effect will soon 
be determined. 
Finally, as compared with hanging, in which death is 
frequently produced by strangulation, with every indication 
of conscious suffering for an appreciable time on the part 
of the victim, execution by electricity is infinitely prefera- 
ble, both as regards the suddenness with which death is ef- 
fected and the expedition with which all the immediate pre- 
liminary details may be arranged. By the latter method 
the fatal stroke renders the subject unconscious in an in- 
finitesimal fraction of a second-so small as to be beyond 
the power of the human mind to estimate it-while, at the 
same time, it destroys both conscious and organic life in a 
shorter space of time than is possible by any other known 
method. In other words, it is the surest, quickest, most 
efficient, and least painful method of inflicting the death 
penalty that has yet been devised. 
334 Fifth Avenue.