Old Sparky

"Old Sparky", or the electric chair, is a fairly controversial method of capital punishment in the United States due to its violent nature. The prisoner is first shaved and then strapped into the chair with various restraints. A metal electrode is attached to the scalp over a sponge soaked in saline. Another electrode is attached to the leg, the prisoner is blindflolded, and the switch is flipped, sending 500-2000 volts through the prisoner's body for about thirty seconds. While the current is being passed through the body, it shakes violently and the hands on the armrests oftentimes grip the chair. Defecation, limb fractures or dislocations, and vommiting have also been reported to occur. Once the current is turned off, smoke rises from the body and the smell of burning flesh fills the execution chamber. Removal of the body and the autopsy have to be postponed until the body and organs cool down.

The electric chair was the preferred method of execution in many states in the 20th century, but has recently lost favor due to the incorporation of lethal injection*. Over 4,400 people have been executed by way of the electric chair**.