Electrocution

Introduction to Electrocution

Electrocution, in a legal sense, a method of inflicting the death penalty on a convicted criminal by passing an electric current through the body. Electrocution was first used in 1890 in New York State. By 1972, at the time of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on capital punishment, electrocution was the method of implementing the death penalty in some 20 states. Death is assumed to be painless in this method of execution, with loss of consciousness being virtually instantaneous.

Although only a small electric current is required to cause death in human beings, the electrical resistance of the human body is so high that a large voltage is required to force even this small current through the body. In U.S. prison practice, an alternating current of about 2000 volts is used for electrocution.

The criminal to be electrocuted is strapped into a specially constructed electric chair. One electrode is applied to the scalp, the other to the calf of one leg. The electrodes are moistened with a salt solution to ensure adequate contact. Death usually occurs within two minutes after the current has started to flow through the body.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Electrocution in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Electrocution