1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,079 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy B. Wilson. If you 4 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:20,640 Speaker 1: listen to the two parter that previous host Sarah and 5 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: Deblina did about the war of currents that played out 6 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:26,759 Speaker 1: with Nicola, Tesla, Thomas Edison, and George Westinghouse at the 7 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: center of it, you may recall that it was a 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: very competitive rush to establish the current type that would 9 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: be adopted by cities to provide power. Thomas Edison was 10 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 1: pitching his DC direct current, while Tesla and Westinghouse were 11 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: championing Tesla's alternating a C current. One of the things 12 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 1: that comes up in the second part of that two 13 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:51,200 Speaker 1: parter is the execution of William Kembler, But the execution 14 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: and what it meant to Edison and Westinghouse as well 15 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: as society, is only mentioned briefly because, to be fair, 16 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: it is completely outside the scope of that episode, and 17 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: it's one of those things that everybody talks about Tesla 18 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,039 Speaker 1: and Westinghouse and Edison a lot, but two of the 19 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: other primary players in that story really don't get all 20 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: that much discussion. And that's Kembler and the man who 21 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: invented the electric chair. Uh So, I thought that we 22 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 1: would revisit that and focus on the invention, it's adoption 23 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: as a means of execution, and some of the legal 24 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: things that were happening around it, and the life of 25 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: William Kemler, who was the first man to be put 26 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: to death in the electric chair. And we're also going 27 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: to touch a little bit on public opinion of the 28 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: death penalty in New York in the late eighteen hundreds. 29 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: Heads up that this episode is a little more gruesome 30 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: than most we've done lately. It includes discussion of domestic violence, 31 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: animal cruelty, and of course execution. There's a pretty horrifying 32 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: murder in this one and that episode, the rivalry of 33 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: Edison and Tesla has talked about in detail, and they 34 00:01:57,280 --> 00:01:59,559 Speaker 1: mentioned that one of the ways that Edison was sewing 35 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: down about alternating current was by mounting a lecture tour 36 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: around the country where animals would be electrocuted using alternating 37 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 1: current really show how dangerous it was. One of the 38 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: things that's brought up as an example of this sometimes 39 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: is Topsy, the elephant who was electrocuted, but that was 40 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: significantly after the war. The currents was really over wasn't 41 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 1: really done as an example of how dangerous the current was, 42 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: but it is a central plot element on an episode 43 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: of Bob's Burgers. It is I will just say right 44 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: now my personal piece. I really don't understand why Kevin 45 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: Klein hasn't gotten eighty two thousand awards for that show. 46 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: And if you want to hear a hilarious musical version 47 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: of how this went down, you should absolutely watch it. 48 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:44,799 Speaker 1: Keep in mind that all of this was playing out 49 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: when the average person was not really accustomed to the 50 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: idea of electricity in their everyday lives, particularly in cities. 51 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: Some people had certainly seen it in use, but really 52 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: as you got outside of metro areas, there was a 53 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: sort of nebulous sense that electricity was very powerful and 54 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: also somewhat scary. It was still associated for a lot 55 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: of people with things like lightning, which was of course 56 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:08,919 Speaker 1: known to be destructive, and that's why it was so 57 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: important to improve the relative safety of having current run 58 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: through cities, and why Edison was able to play so 59 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: expertly on the fears of Layman in smearing Westinghouse in 60 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: Tesla and They're alternating current and the years leading up 61 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: to the specific events that we're talking about today, there 62 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: was a lot of discussion about the death penalty, which 63 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,400 Speaker 1: at the time was being carried out by hanging in 64 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: New York and pretty much the rest of the United 65 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: States as well. Many critics thought that this was inhumane, 66 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: and there were hopes that the technological advances of the 67 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: day might eventually offer some kind of better alternative. Additionally, 68 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: there was a growing movement to abolish the death penalty 69 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: altogether in the United States. Enter Alfred Southwick. Southwick was 70 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: born in Ohio on May eighth. He attended high school 71 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: but was the last of his formal schooling. After moving 72 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: to Buffalo in the late eighteen forties, he worked as 73 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: a steamboat captain and then became chief engineer of the 74 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: Western Transit Company, which ran a large scale steamship operation 75 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: on Lake Erie. But in the late eighteen fifties, Southwick's 76 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:20,599 Speaker 1: career trajectory changed completely. He became a dentist's apprentice. He 77 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: went on to start his own practice in eighteen sixty two, 78 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: which was well respected but not hugely lucrative. To move 79 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: up in the dental field, he started to specialize in 80 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: oral surgery, eventually becoming an expert in cleft palate reconstructions 81 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,160 Speaker 1: and innovating in the field through his introduction of artificial 82 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: implants and a new surgical approach to that. Yeah, it's 83 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: one of those things where it was not uncommon for 84 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: people to learn dentistry through an apprenticeship rather than what 85 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 1: would need to happen today, which should be a whole 86 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,160 Speaker 1: lot of dental school. So while that to modern ears 87 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,720 Speaker 1: maybe like, wait, how did he become a dentist completely normal? 88 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: At the time, Southwick was also completely fascinated by electricity. 89 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: He got a few scientifically minded friends together in the 90 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: early eighteen eighties so that they could begin their own 91 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: experiments with it using a small generator. In short, they 92 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: wanted to test currents on stray dogs that they captured, 93 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: with mixed and often brutal results. Once they had their 94 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: system refined to the point that it consistently worked, though 95 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: this was framed as performing a public service, they were 96 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: ridding the city of its stray dogs in a humane way, 97 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: and of course Southwick got to thinking about how inhumane 98 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: being put to death by hanging was, and he wondered 99 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 1: if electricity might offer a better option. This idea did 100 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 1: not go over that well at first, but as he 101 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: wrote articles about its viability that appeared in various scientific 102 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: journals over the years, other scientists started to become curious 103 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 1: about it. Southwick started sketching out exactly how an electrocution 104 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: apparatus might work, and he eventually settled on the idea 105 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,359 Speaker 1: of a chair. Yeah, he had had tried out sketches 106 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: where the person was standing on a conductive play and 107 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: some other options, but one of the books I read 108 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:05,919 Speaker 1: about this kind of hinted that because he was a dentist, 109 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: the chair, of course, would seem like the most natural 110 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: way to manage something like this, since he did all 111 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 1: his dental work with a patient in a chair. On 112 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:17,159 Speaker 1: January six five, David B. Hill, the new Governor of 113 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,160 Speaker 1: New York, made the following statement in a speech quote, 114 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: the present mode of executing criminals by hanging has come 115 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: down to us from the dark ages, and it may 116 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:28,719 Speaker 1: well be questioned whether the science of the present day 117 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:31,720 Speaker 1: cannot provide a means for taking the life of such 118 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: as are condemned to die in a less barbarous manner. 119 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:38,720 Speaker 1: I commend this suggestion to the consideration of the legislature, 120 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: and this was in line with a lot of the 121 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 1: thinking at the time that there had to be a 122 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 1: better way to handle death sentences and that science was 123 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 1: the answer. In eighteen eighties six, the stories of botched 124 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: hangings were becoming more and more common in the press. 125 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 1: Governor Hill set up a commission quote to investigate and 126 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:59,320 Speaker 1: report upon the most humane and practical method known to 127 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: medical science of carrying into effect the sentence of death 128 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:07,559 Speaker 1: in capital cases. On that commission were Southwick, alberde t Garry, 129 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: the one who investigated Mummler, not his grandfather who invented gerrymandering, 130 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: and the legal scholar Matthew Hale. There were no actual scientists. Yeah, 131 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: you could get into semantics about whether or not you 132 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: could consider Southwick a scientist, but there was nobody that 133 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: had really, like spent their entire life studying science. A 134 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: lot of the reports that they were putting together kind 135 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: of laid out an assortment of other potential options, including 136 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: like clubbing people to death and stabbings and very strange 137 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:40,920 Speaker 1: ways that people might die, and whether that could be 138 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: somehow codified into being an official means of death in 139 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: the death sentence. It's a lot to take in. But 140 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: as part of the Commission's investigation into the matter, Southwick, 141 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: who of course already was into this idea of electricity 142 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: for it, sent Thomas Alva Edison a letter. That letter 143 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: was dated November eight, eight seven, and it asked Edison 144 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: for his thoughts as an expert on the best way 145 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: to execute a human using electricity, and Edison wanted no 146 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: part of it. He was against capital punishment and he 147 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: certainly did not want his knowledge about electricity used to 148 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: end a human life. But Southolk wasn't dissuaded. He continued 149 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: his correspondence with Edison, requesting again in December any insights 150 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: that the famous inventor had about how one might put 151 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: a man to death using electric current. Southolk made the 152 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 1: case that he was trying to find something more humane 153 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: than hanging, and that Edison's expertise could help get that 154 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: needed legislation passed. So a month after Southwick had initially 155 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: reached out to Edison, he finally got the information that 156 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:47,959 Speaker 1: he desired from the inventor, who wrote, quote, the most 157 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,320 Speaker 1: suitable apparatus for this purpose is that class of dynamo 158 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:56,080 Speaker 1: electric machinery which employs intermittent currents. The most effective of 159 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 1: these are known as alternating machines, manufactured principally in this 160 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: country by George Westinghouse. The change of heart was born 161 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: of a desire to end this rivalry with one swift blue. 162 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: If Westinghouses Company and it's alternating current became associated with 163 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: execution covered by the press across the country, Edison's direct 164 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 1: current would take the day and become the standard. Yeah, 165 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 1: we're not digging deep into that rivalry beyond this, since 166 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 1: that was covered in that two parter by Sarah Dablina. 167 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: But this is just like to explain why suddenly Thomas 168 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: Alva Edison was like, oh, yes, you could do this, 169 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:35,079 Speaker 1: absolutely use Westinghouses current. We're going to talk about the 170 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: commission's report that came to Fruition after this reply from 171 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:41,240 Speaker 1: Edison in just a moment, but first we will pause 172 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: for a sponsor break. So this commission, which is sometimes 173 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: called the death Commission in literature of the day, discussed 174 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: their findings after researching all of these different alternatives to hanging, 175 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 1: including electricity, and taking into account Edison's comments on it. 176 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 1: Southwick and Hale favored current. Gary thought that poisoning was 177 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: actually the way to go, but conceded that getting a 178 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 1: doctor to administer poison was obviously problematic because it went 179 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 1: against their oaths to take care of people. On January, 180 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,680 Speaker 1: the commissions submitted their final report to the New York 181 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 1: State Legislature. Southwicks electric chair was the recommended replacement for 182 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: hanging the Builds Update. The law was introduced that very 183 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:34,320 Speaker 1: week by Senator Henry Koggleshall. From the moment it became 184 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 1: part of the public record, there were endless opinion articles 185 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 1: and editorials about capital punishment, whether electricity was a humane 186 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: way to carry it out, and how a new law 187 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:47,440 Speaker 1: like this could be implemented in terms of infrastructure and 188 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,160 Speaker 1: responsibility for its use and maintenance. Yeah, whether that suddenly 189 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: fell to the prison to manage or to the government 190 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:56,600 Speaker 1: to manage became a big issue of debate as well, 191 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: even though their worst amountlines for how that could happen 192 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:03,840 Speaker 1: in this recommendation report. But in a lot of ways 193 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: this offered a strange sort of compromise to people who 194 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: thought that hanging was outdated. A lot of the debate 195 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:13,520 Speaker 1: around capital punishment at this time was carefully worded so 196 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: that most people who were kind of middle of the 197 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:17,719 Speaker 1: road on the issue could say that they were not 198 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 1: against the death penalty necessarily, but they just didn't think 199 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 1: that the system of hanging was really working, and so 200 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 1: for a lot of them, electrical current offered a solution 201 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: to their moral dilemma. This debate went on and on 202 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:32,960 Speaker 1: in the press and in the court of public opinion, 203 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 1: but the end result after all the legislation was done, 204 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 1: was that the Electric Chair Bill was signed into law 205 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 1: on June to take effect on January one, eighteen eighty nine. 206 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: Chapter four eighty nine of the Laws of eighteen eighty 207 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: eight of New York made the change to the law 208 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:52,000 Speaker 1: regarding how death sentences should be carried out, switching them 209 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,080 Speaker 1: over to electrical current as the means of death. This 210 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,080 Speaker 1: amended section five oh five of the Code of Criminal 211 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 1: Procedure of New York to include the allowing passage quote. 212 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: The punishment of death must in every case be inflicted 213 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,120 Speaker 1: by causing to pass through the body of the convict 214 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 1: a current of electricity of sufficient intensity to cause death, 215 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: and the application of such current must be continued until 216 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,560 Speaker 1: such convict is dead. So that brings us to William Kemmler, 217 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:21,560 Speaker 1: and Kemler's early life is not especially well documented. We 218 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 1: know that he was the son of German immigrants, born 219 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:27,400 Speaker 1: in Philadelphia on May ninth, eighteen sixty and his parents 220 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 1: had a total of eleven children, but William and four 221 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 1: of his siblings three sisters and a brother, were the 222 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: only ones to live to adulthood. Kemmler spoke English and German, 223 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,960 Speaker 1: but he never had any formal schooling and didn't learn 224 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,560 Speaker 1: to read or write. He helped his father in the 225 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: family butcher shop, as well as taking on other side 226 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: jobs to help keep the family afloat. William's mother died 227 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: of tuberculosis when he and his siblings were young, and 228 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 1: his father developed gang green after being injured in a 229 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,240 Speaker 1: brawl when he died when William was still very young. 230 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: At seventeen, Kemla started working in a brickyard and he 231 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 1: saved his wages over the next two years so that 232 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 1: he could set himself up in a trade where he 233 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: could be his own boss. And so at the age 234 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 1: of nineteen, he purchased a cart and a horse, and 235 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 1: he became a vegetable peddler, and he bought vegetables from 236 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: country farmers and then he would bring their produce to 237 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:20,360 Speaker 1: the city fill up his cart and then he went 238 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 1: about the streets of Philadelphia selling his wares. So he 239 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: had a promising start, But Kemmler was also an alcoholic, 240 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: and that ultimately doomed him. The peddler who did well 241 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,960 Speaker 1: managing his business and was good at his job, became 242 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 1: a totally different person when he drank, and he became 243 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,679 Speaker 1: violent and unpredictable. It was allegedly during a time that 244 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 1: Kemmler was black out drunk that he got married to 245 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:47,320 Speaker 1: one of his neighbors. Sober Kemler was not interested in 246 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,680 Speaker 1: this relationship at all, and he attempted to disentangle himself 247 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: from the whole thing. He already had a young woman 248 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 1: that he cared for in his life. When you read 249 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 1: stories of this, it's often framed very much as his 250 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 1: neighbor being like this sneaky tricks woman who dragged him 251 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: to the courthouse when he was drunk and made him 252 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,679 Speaker 1: do the vows. We don't really know, that's just how 253 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: it's often reported. But Kemmler's new wife wanted to stay married. 254 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,080 Speaker 1: The woman that Kemler loved, Matilda Ziggler, who went by Tilly, 255 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: was also married to further complicate things, but her husband 256 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 1: of eight years was unfaithful and she was very unhappy. 257 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: So William and his paramore, Tilly, both skipped out in 258 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 1: their spouses. They left Philadelphia together. In before they left, 259 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 1: Kemdler sold everything he had for a total of twelve 260 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: hundred dollars, and he, Tilly and Tillie's daughter Emma, went 261 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: to Buffalo. Kemmler started going by the name John Hort 262 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 1: so that his wife couldn't track him down. He started 263 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:45,600 Speaker 1: up the same business, selling vegetables in a new city. Initially, 264 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 1: everything seemed to be going well. William's brother saw the 265 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:51,240 Speaker 1: two of them the following Christmas and reported that they 266 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: were happy. It's interesting that name John Hort appears on 267 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: legal documents that Kemmler filed, like as part of his 268 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: business license and whatnot, but he didn't seemed to actually 269 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 1: go by it in his day to day life, like 270 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 1: everyone knew his real name, but it was just the 271 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: way that he couldn't be traced should anyone from Philadelphia 272 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: come looking for him through the legal record. The room 273 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: that William and Tilly rented at five South Division Street 274 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: was small, and their bliss turned sour in those tight quarters, 275 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 1: particularly when William drank. According to neighbors. Tilly also had 276 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:25,680 Speaker 1: a volatile temper, and the two of them could often 277 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 1: be heard arguing loudly. On the morning of March nine, 278 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 1: neighbors heard the usual yelling, and there had long been 279 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 1: some suspicion that these arguments would become physically violent, and 280 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: while that was the subject of neighborhood gossip, nobody had 281 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: ever tried to confirm it or to see if Tilly 282 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: might need help. After the particularly loud argument that took 283 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: place on March twenty nine, subsided William Kimbler walked into 284 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: the kitchen of their landlady Mary read, and he said 285 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: to her quote, I've killed her. I had to do it. 286 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 1: There was no help for it. I'll hang for the deed. 287 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 1: Either one of us had to die, and Mrs Reid 288 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 1: was initially unbelieving until Kemmler brought her Tillies daughter, Emma, 289 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: who was four years old at the time, and she 290 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:13,400 Speaker 1: told Mary Reid, Papa has killed my mama. So the 291 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: police were immediately summoned, and while Mary Reid was at 292 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,280 Speaker 1: a neighbors asking for help, Kemmler went to a saloon 293 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: nearby and ordered a drink. He was arrested soon thereafter 294 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: he didn't resist. A doctor Blackman entered the room that 295 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: William and till He shared to examine the body and 296 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: found eggs still in a skillet on the stove, potatoes 297 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: in the oven, and otherwise a brutal crime scene. Blackman 298 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 1: later described it as the worst thing he had seen 299 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,800 Speaker 1: in the course of his work. Yeah. Clearly they had 300 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 1: been making breakfast, or till he was making breakfast when 301 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: whatever happened took place. Their table was overturned. Tillie was 302 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: lying in a pool of blood. She was covered all 303 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:56,080 Speaker 1: over in blood. Her heart surprisingly was still beating, so 304 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: an ambulance was called for and her examination at the 305 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: hospital that she had been hit in the head with 306 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 1: a hatchet twenty six times. Her skull was fractured in 307 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 1: five places, and her right arm had also been chopped 308 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:12,400 Speaker 1: at with the hatchet. She was taken into surgery, where 309 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,919 Speaker 1: seventeen broken fragments of her skull were removed from her 310 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:20,440 Speaker 1: brain tissue. Despite all efforts to save her, Tillie died 311 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:23,399 Speaker 1: at one am on March and her daughter Emma was 312 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 1: then placed in the care of Mary Reid. Kimmler was 313 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: still intoxicated when he was taken into custody and initially 314 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,280 Speaker 1: refused to speak to police. Then he confessed to the crime, 315 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,720 Speaker 1: saying that he was not sorry and that quote, I 316 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 1: wanted to kill her and I am ready to hang 317 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: for it. There were the next several days his attitude changed. 318 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:43,880 Speaker 1: He wanted the modest amount of money to his name, 319 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: which was five hundred dollars, to be used for Tilly's 320 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: funeral expenses. And we're about to get into the details 321 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 1: of Kemmler's trial and how this whole thing turns out. 322 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,280 Speaker 1: But before we get into that next phase of rather 323 00:17:55,320 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: heavy stuff, let us pause for a little sponsor break. 324 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: During his time in jail and during his trial, which 325 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: began on May seven, William Kemmler shared more details of 326 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: what had happened. In the morning of March nine. Kemmler 327 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:18,159 Speaker 1: had believed that Tilly was having an affair with his 328 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: business partner, and he had become violent when he was 329 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,919 Speaker 1: drunk and confronted her about it. During the trial, District 330 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: Attorney George T. Quinby made his case pretty quickly, pointing 331 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 1: out that Kembler had repeatedly confessed. He then said, quote, 332 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,359 Speaker 1: there is getting to be a frightful number of homicides 333 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 1: and the punishment meted out to the murderers does not 334 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: seem to check the crime. It is time that such 335 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: a salutary lesson should be taught, as we'll have a 336 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: deterring effect. So he was asking for the steepest penalty 337 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 1: available for Keimbler, which would have been death. The jury 338 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: was given all the details of the crime scene. The 339 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 1: surgeons who worked on Tilly were called as witnesses and 340 00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: even produced the skull fragments that had been removed from 341 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 1: her brain as evidence. The defense focused largely on how 342 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: pretty Tilly had been, how completely believable it was that 343 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: she might have had an affair. Even the testimony of 344 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: Mrs Reed was a little dicey for the prosecution, as 345 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: she said that Tilly started most of the fights with 346 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:20,600 Speaker 1: Kemmler and used quote unladylike language. The defense also made 347 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: the case that because of his drunkenness, Kemler should only 348 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:27,159 Speaker 1: be charged with manslaughter instead of first degree murder. They 349 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 1: didn't wish for acquittal because they knew he had confessed, 350 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,119 Speaker 1: but they wanted an acknowledgement that someone with a drinking 351 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:36,480 Speaker 1: problem as chronic as Kemmler's, which they evidenced by describing 352 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: a series of other events that had exhibited his poor 353 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: judgment couldn't premeditate anything. They called all of his drinking 354 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: cohorts to the stand to talk about their binges together, 355 00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 1: which often started first thing in the morning and went 356 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 1: on all day, even as they worked. There was also 357 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:56,560 Speaker 1: a testimony from a doctor who examined Kemmler that said 358 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,480 Speaker 1: he was an odd man even when sober, and that 359 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:03,480 Speaker 1: quote he had suffered from private diseases. Presumably that meant 360 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 1: some sort of sexually transmitted infection. This witness Dr Cruther's 361 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:13,399 Speaker 1: mostly pronounced Kembler quote morally irresponsible. Yeah, that phrase came 362 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:17,719 Speaker 1: up again and again in his testimony. Ultimately, after requesting 363 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:20,960 Speaker 1: that some testimony be read back to them for additional deliberation, 364 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: the jury returned their verdict guilty of murder in the 365 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:27,960 Speaker 1: first degree. When the judge said that he would issue 366 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,119 Speaker 1: his sentence later that week, it started to dawn on 367 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:34,920 Speaker 1: people who knew about the new law regarding capital punishment 368 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,359 Speaker 1: and electrocution that Kembler was the first person in New 369 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: York found guilty of murder since that law came into effect. 370 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:44,560 Speaker 1: And suddenly his trial, which at that point had been 371 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:47,199 Speaker 1: reported in the papers, but kind of as like the 372 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:51,639 Speaker 1: sensational type headlines about a grizzly murder trial took on 373 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,120 Speaker 1: all new meaning and importance. If the judge handed down 374 00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:58,400 Speaker 1: the death sentence, Kemmler would be the first man purposely 375 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 1: killed with electricity. On May thirteenth, that death sentence was announced. 376 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:07,360 Speaker 1: Westinghouse covered the cost of a very good attorney for Keimler, 377 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 1: and he knew that if Kemmler was electrocuted with alternating current, 378 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,359 Speaker 1: as South Looks Chair had been designed to do, it 379 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to recover from. 380 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: And this one all the way to the Supreme Court 381 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:22,879 Speaker 1: thanks to that funding. On May five nine, Roger M. 382 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: Sherman filed a petition on behalf of Kemmler with the 383 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:28,919 Speaker 1: Supreme Court, and that petition read, in part quote, the 384 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: petitioner is under sentence of death in the Northern District 385 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,720 Speaker 1: of New York under a Statute of New York, which 386 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,639 Speaker 1: imposes the punishment of death by the passing through his 387 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,160 Speaker 1: body of a current of electricity sufficient, in the opinion 388 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,800 Speaker 1: of the warden of the State prison, to cause his death, 389 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,440 Speaker 1: which current is to be continued until it kills him. 390 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:49,880 Speaker 1: The statute also leaves it to the warden to fix 391 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,640 Speaker 1: the day and hour of his death, and contains other 392 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: features which he here asserts are in violation of the 393 00:21:55,520 --> 00:22:00,119 Speaker 1: fourteenth Amendment. These features abridge his privileges and immunities as 394 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,159 Speaker 1: a citizen of the United States and deprive him of 395 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 1: his life without due process of law. After a quick 396 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:11,159 Speaker 1: initial hearing, this petition was denied, but Associate Justice Samuel M. 397 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 1: Blatchford had also received an application for a writ of 398 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 1: error regarding Kemmeler's case. That's a request to have the 399 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:20,639 Speaker 1: superior court review the case and make sure no legal 400 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,920 Speaker 1: error happened that might require a correction. Blatchford put forth 401 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,520 Speaker 1: that the application for appeal should be made to the 402 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: full Court, and a hearing was scheduled from May nineteenth 403 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: of eight nine. This sort of seemed like a ray 404 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,359 Speaker 1: of hope, and that hearing didn't actually begin until May twenty. 405 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:38,880 Speaker 1: Their docket had some other stuff that pushed it back 406 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:42,239 Speaker 1: a day, and Kemler's legal team argued that he had 407 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: been sentenced to cruel and unusual punishment, making it unconstitutional 408 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:50,960 Speaker 1: and outside of due process. In response, Charles F. Durston, 409 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,959 Speaker 1: Warden of Auburn State Prison made his statement that nothing 410 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 1: involved in Kemmeler's case was outside of due process and unconstitutional, 411 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,639 Speaker 1: and that the center was in line with the new law. 412 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,160 Speaker 1: Durston and his team also submitted as evidence of due 413 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: process copies of Kemmeler's indictment, judgment, sentence, and execution warrant. 414 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,959 Speaker 1: The warrant read, in part, quote, Now, therefore, you are 415 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,720 Speaker 1: hereby ordered, commanded, and required to execute the said sentence 416 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:21,919 Speaker 1: upon him, the said William Kemmler, otherwise called John Hort, 417 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,960 Speaker 1: within the walls of Auburn State Prison, or within the 418 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 1: yard or enclosure adjoining there too, by then, and they 419 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:29,960 Speaker 1: are causing to pass through the body of him, the 420 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:33,679 Speaker 1: said William Kemmler, otherwise called John Hort, a current of 421 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: electricity of sufficient intensity to cause death, And that the 422 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 1: application of such current of electricity we continued until he, 423 00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 1: the said William Kemmler, otherwise called John Hort, be dead. 424 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: The petitioner's response was a death by electrical current quote 425 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,480 Speaker 1: is a cruel and unusual punishment within the meaning of 426 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:56,399 Speaker 1: the Constitution, and that it cannot therefore be lawfully inflicted. 427 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 1: And to establish the facts upon which the Court can 428 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:02,240 Speaker 1: pass as to the character of the penalty. At the 429 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 1: conclusion of the appeal hearing, the court, headed by Chief 430 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:09,200 Speaker 1: Justice Melville Weston Fuller, gave its opinion, which was not 431 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: what Kimmler's team wanted. In an earlier appeal, the Court 432 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:15,240 Speaker 1: System of New York had issued an opinion with the 433 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,959 Speaker 1: following as its conclusion quote. We have examined this testimony 434 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:21,159 Speaker 1: and can find but little in it to warrant the 435 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 1: belief that this new mode of execution is cruel within 436 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 1: the meaning of the Constitution, though it is certainly unusual. 437 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 1: On the contrary, we agree with the court below that 438 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:34,680 Speaker 1: it removes every reasonable doubt that the application of electricity 439 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,480 Speaker 1: to the vital parts of the human body, under such 440 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 1: conditions and in the manner contemplated by the statute, must 441 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: result in instantaneous and consequently in painless death. On reviewing 442 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 1: the previous hearings involved in Kimmeler's case, the U. S. 443 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 1: Supreme Court did not find anything legally erroneous in the 444 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,560 Speaker 1: previous verdicts. Their opinion outlines that the New York courts 445 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,160 Speaker 1: did concede that the manner of death could be said 446 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 1: to be unusual because it was new but that there 447 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: was every reason to believe, based on the scientific evidence 448 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,320 Speaker 1: and information available, that it would not be cruel, and 449 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:12,360 Speaker 1: that they trusted the new law adopting this method had 450 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:16,200 Speaker 1: been made based on that information. The Supreme Court's opinion 451 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,600 Speaker 1: concluded with quote, in order to reverse the judgment of 452 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 1: the highest Court of the State of New York, we 453 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,199 Speaker 1: should be compelled to hold that it had committed an 454 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,159 Speaker 1: error so gross as to amount in law to a 455 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:29,679 Speaker 1: denial by the state of due process of law to 456 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,960 Speaker 1: one accused of crime or of some rights secured to 457 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:36,320 Speaker 1: him by the Constitution of the United States. We have 458 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,960 Speaker 1: no hesitation in saying that this we cannot do upon 459 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:43,359 Speaker 1: the record before us. The application for a writ of 460 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:47,360 Speaker 1: error is denied, and with that, Kembler's fate was sealed. 461 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:51,159 Speaker 1: August six was scheduled to be the day that the 462 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 1: first person would be executed by electric chair. That morning, 463 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,000 Speaker 1: Kembler woke up, got dressed, and was escorted by the 464 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 1: prison warrant to his end in the Auburn State Prison, 465 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:03,439 Speaker 1: and it was required by law that the date and 466 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: the time of the execution be secret. Everyone found out anyway, though, 467 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: because Auburn was a pretty small town. Yeah, it was 468 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,680 Speaker 1: a small town and this was huge news. The last 469 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,880 Speaker 1: thing that Kemmler said was, gentleman, I wish everyone all 470 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,280 Speaker 1: the good luck in the world. I believe I am 471 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,240 Speaker 1: going to a good place. The papers have been saying 472 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,919 Speaker 1: a lot of stuff that ain't, so that's all I 473 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,159 Speaker 1: have to say. He was prepared with electrodes that were 474 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:30,639 Speaker 1: attached to his head, which was then covered with a 475 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:34,359 Speaker 1: black cloth. He was strapped down and then the execution began. 476 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: Current ran through his body for seventeen seconds, and at 477 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,360 Speaker 1: that point two doctors who were in attendance as consultants, 478 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 1: who were E. C. Spitzka and Carlos McDonald, both believed 479 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: him to be dead, so the current was cut off, 480 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:51,960 Speaker 1: but then Kemmler groaned. He had a pulse and a heartbeat. 481 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,160 Speaker 1: Newspapers reported that someone yelled, great, God, he is alive. 482 00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:59,600 Speaker 1: A second round of current was immediately called for to 483 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:03,400 Speaker 1: end Kemmler's suffering, but there was a problem. The apparatus 484 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:05,879 Speaker 1: had to have power restored to it to run again, 485 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 1: and that cycle took another two minutes before the current 486 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,080 Speaker 1: could be turned on that second round. Once they did 487 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:14,520 Speaker 1: get it turned on, the current stayed active for a 488 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:17,640 Speaker 1: full two minutes, and after that point Kemmler was indeed dead. 489 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,359 Speaker 1: So this entire event was, as you might expect, reported 490 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:25,200 Speaker 1: with revulsion and horror at how it had played out. 491 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 1: This was incidentally illegal, but the sensational nature of the 492 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: event meant that newspapers took the risk and went to 493 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 1: print with their accounts. Anyway, The New York Times ran 494 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:39,280 Speaker 1: a story with the headline quote far worse than hanging Yeah. 495 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,160 Speaker 1: It was illegal for them to report details of this 496 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: whole affair. They could report like the basics of like 497 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 1: when it happened and what he said, but not sort 498 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,080 Speaker 1: of the gory details. And they all did exactly that, 499 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:57,040 Speaker 1: just the same. Naturally, both Edison and Westinghouse were asked 500 00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: for their thoughts on the matter by members of the press. 501 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:04,119 Speaker 1: Edison commented that this first time had been bungled, likely 502 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 1: because of the excitement of the situation, but that he 503 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 1: believed that subsequent efforts would lead to instant deaths. He 504 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 1: also suggested putting the sentenced man's hands in water and 505 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:17,160 Speaker 1: running a current into the jars as an alternative approach 506 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:20,399 Speaker 1: to it. Westinghouse simply replied, quote, it has been a 507 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 1: brutal affair, they could have done a better job with 508 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,879 Speaker 1: an axe. An autopsy was performed on Kemmler and the 509 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:31,199 Speaker 1: results indicated that he had lost consciousness instantly, and the 510 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,359 Speaker 1: problems in the execution had come from poor contact or 511 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 1: a voltage that was set too low. Durston, the warden 512 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,200 Speaker 1: at Auburn was raked over the coals in the press 513 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: as a consequence, and while this very first, poorly handled 514 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:46,520 Speaker 1: use of the electric chair led a lot of people 515 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: to believe that this was never going to be used again, 516 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,479 Speaker 1: in July of the following year, New York put foreman 517 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 1: to death by electrocution on the same day, July seventh. Today, 518 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,720 Speaker 1: electrocution is still authorized as a means of carrying out 519 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 1: capital punishment in nine states in the US, although all 520 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 1: of those states have lethal injection as their primary method. 521 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: William Kembler, it's a weird story with lots of gore. 522 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:14,000 Speaker 1: We did not go into the gory details. If you 523 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:17,120 Speaker 1: are wildly curious, I want to read them. A lot 524 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:20,640 Speaker 1: of those newspaper reports are pretty readily available online. Yeah, 525 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:25,320 Speaker 1: I have way more upbeat listener mail. Okay, good, This 526 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,240 Speaker 1: is from our listener, Timothy uh. He writes, Dear Tracy 527 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,360 Speaker 1: and Holly. I caught up with your January SI podcast, 528 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:35,160 Speaker 1: Jones Struther's Current and Radar Countermeasures several days before a 529 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: visit to the Smithsonian's Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum 530 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:42,800 Speaker 1: near Washington, DC's Dullss Airport. Among the exhibits, which include 531 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: the Discover Space Shuttle fighter jet, a Blackbird spy plane, 532 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: and a Concord supersonic passenger jet, I found a display 533 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: of World War Two radar chaff. Attached our photos along 534 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 1: with the display signage. Your podcast put the significance of 535 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 1: this small display into context and highlighted it's important. Thanks 536 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:03,400 Speaker 1: to keep up the great work. Thank you so much. Tim. 537 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 1: That's so sweet. I'm glad that um that that's kind 538 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:10,000 Speaker 1: of added a little extra layer of of knowledge and 539 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:12,400 Speaker 1: enjoyment and engagement for that for you. I actually have 540 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:14,480 Speaker 1: not seen that exhibit. I did not know it was there, 541 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 1: So now I have another thing on my museum list. 542 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 543 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at iHeart radio dot com. 544 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 1: You can find us everywhere on social media as Missed 545 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 1: in History, and you can subscribe to the podcast on 546 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:31,280 Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app. At Apple Podcasts, or wherever 547 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:38,520 Speaker 1: it is that you listen. Stuff you missed in History 548 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,240 Speaker 1: Class is a production of I heart Radio. For more 549 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 550 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.