Electric Chair’s Horrific First Execution

In 1890, New York carried out the first human execution by electric chair at Auburn Prison after testing the device on calves and a horse. The initial current failed to kill the prisoner cleanly, and a second 2,000-volt surge reportedly set him on fire in front of horrified witnesses. Afterward, the generator’s supplier said, "They would have done better using an axe," and the New York Times condemned the event as "far worse than hanging."

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