The Inhumanity, Complications, and Ineffectiveness of the Electric Chair

For over a century now, states in the United States have actually used the electric chair for a method of execution. The electrical chair was indicated to be a more humane variation of execution. Nevertheless, now people seem to believe the electric chair is an unconstitutional method to pass away. As years go by, individuals who have witnessed electrical chair executions have stated terrible and agonizing stories of death. Prisoners fought the straps of the chair as the high voltage went through their body.

There were some cases where the inmate's skin would burn while they were still alive. The electric chair ought to not be an approach for execution since it is inhumane, there are problems, and they aren't completely effective.

Using the electric chair as a method of capital punishment is inhumane. "Physical reactions include heaving chest, gurgles, foaming at the mouth, bloody sweat, burning of the hair and skin, and release of feces (Hall, Charlene. Techniques of Execution.

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) This is a terrible method to die. It doesn't matter what they did to be sentenced to death row, this is unconstitutional. "The brain appears prepared in many cases and the prisoner's eyeballs sometimes pop out and rest on his cheeks. Also the inmate frequently defecates, urinates, vomits blood, and drools.

The body turns bright red as its temperature level rises, and the prisoner's flesh swells as his skin extends to the point of breaking. Witnesses have actually reported hearing a loud and sustained seem like bacon frying, and the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh (Mailto, R.

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"The Electric Chair.")." What would you do if you were viewing this? Or, if this taken place to one of your enjoyed ones? You would be disgusted that something like this was allowed in our country.

Using the electric chair as a method of capital punishment has its complications. “Nine electrocutions have gone awry since 1983. During the electrocution of Jesse Joseph Tafero on May 4, 1990 flames and smoke were seen shooting out of his head. This caused the state to interrupt the electric current during which Tafero continued to breathe and move ("Lethal Injection vs Electric Chair.").” The chair didn’t kill him the first time around. Can you imagine the pain that person went through? There were 9 other incidents where this same exact thing happened. “On May 3, 1946, the electric chair failed to kill Willie Francis. Witnesses reported hearing the teenager scream from behind the leather hood, "Take it off! Take it off! Let me breathe!" as the supposedly lethal surge of electricity was being applied ("Willie Francis | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers.").” Obviously there is a flaw in the electric chair.

If you were to be executed today, you would probably feel little pain in the electric chair. The initial voltage is 2,000 volts and is only used to stop the inmate’s heart and make them unconscious. After a certain amount of time, the voltage is lowered and the remaining shocks are left to damage the internal organs. This makes sure that the body cannot be revived. Even though electric chairs now are safer and more reliable than in the past, they are still not 100% effective. “There have been multiple accounts as recently as present day of prisoners surviving multiple attempts to stop their hearts with the first dose of electricity. As some humans have more of a resistance to electrical currents than others it seems, not everyone is finished by 2000 volts on the first attempt (Rhodes, Jonte).” Not everybody is the same. People have different reactions to different things. You can’t base your methods off of one thing.

Please reconsider your thoughts on the electric chair because it is inhumane, there are too many complications, and it isn’t completely effective. Put yourself in this situation, you see a young man in the chair, strapped down with something covering his head, you know the gruesome failed outcomes from this, could you pull the lever anyways?

Updated: Nov 20, 2023
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The Inhumanity, Complications, and Ineffectiveness of the Electric Chair. (2016, Sep 15). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-electric-chair-essay

The Inhumanity, Complications, and Ineffectiveness of the Electric Chair essay
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