ELECTRICAL EXECUTIONS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1961, 4 October 1888, Page 3

ELECTRICAL EXECUTIONS

Ones more the tub j act of eleott'esl execotlona is tip for discussion, and It cannot be said that the lateat development are very enooaraging. It appears that an application was made to Me Edison for advice as to the bb»t manner of carrying oat the provisions of the law, and that certain experiments were undertaken at the Orange Laboratory by Mr Batohelor and Mr Kennelly, with the object of as certaioing as far as possible what was the effect on animal organisms of a strong abook sharply administered. A dog waa utilized as a victim, and was placed f.n the the oltoalt of an alternating machine giving a potential somewhere m the neighbourhood of 2000 volts. The dog did not realise his grave position, bat the moment the clroalt waa closed he fell M dead as a doornail. The actual time of execution waa two seconds. A notable incident was the flowing cf blood from the ears of the dog ; «nd another featnre that strook many of the observers was the extreme difficulty of keeping the dog In attitude to receive the shook. Although the experiments were as humane as the case allowed, the results were altogether ouch aa to dissuade one from the advooioy of such electrical executions with human beings. At the same time

doei not follow that the execution of human beings need be so horrible m Us attendant circumstances. Mr Edison sag gested that It would be enough to manacle the criminal io haadouffj attached to tbe respective polea of the dynamo, preferably an alternating machine. Mr Kannelly was pretty nuuoh of the same opinion, believing that it would be rather hard to accomplish the it landed results very ■peedily or effectively with the proposed eleotrioa) chair. —• * Electrician. "