Just for history's sake, a bit about "Old Sparky" located in Starke, FL:
It was the sole means of execution in Florida from 1924 until 2000, when the Florida legislature under pressure from the U.S. Supreme Court replaced it with lethal injection. Florida death row inmates now may be executed in the electric chair only if they choose it. It was located in Florida State Prison in the north Florida town of Starke. It was notorious for malfunctioning in its final years, namely in the cases of Jesse Tafero (executed May 4, 1990), Pedro Medina (executed March 25, 1997), and Allen Lee Davis (executed July 8, 1999). Reportedly flames shot out of the convicts' heads during the execution of Tafero and Medina, raising the question whether use of the electric chair was cruel and unusual punishment. After the Medina execution, then Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth commented, "People who wish to commit murder, they'd better not do it in the state of Florida because we may have a problem with the electric chair." [2]
The malfunctions probably were due to practices of the prison staff and not because of the electric chair itself. The wooden chair itself had been replaced in early 1999 due to concerns over its stability should heavier inmates be executed in it. The electrical components remained the same for the system.
There was evidence that the first two malfunctions in the Tafero and Medina executions occurred because of how sponges were used in the headpiece containing an electrode. To assure proper contact between the inmate's head and the electrode, a saline-soaked sponge stuffed between the two was necessary. In the Tafero incident, a natural sponge was replaced with a synthetic sponge that caught fire during the execution. For Medina, prison officials apparently did not properly soak the sponge in saline, and it caught fire also. Davis' execution photographs clearly showed that his nose had been severely compressed by a badly fitted headstrap.
The malfunctions probably were due to practices of the prison staff and not because of the electric chair itself. The wooden chair itself had been replaced in early 1999 due to concerns over its stability should heavier inmates be executed in it. The electrical components remained the same for the system.
There was evidence that the first two malfunctions in the Tafero and Medina executions occurred because of how sponges were used in the headpiece containing an electrode. To assure proper contact between the inmate's head and the electrode, a saline-soaked sponge stuffed between the two was necessary. In the Tafero incident, a natural sponge was replaced with a synthetic sponge that caught fire during the execution. For Medina, prison officials apparently did not properly soak the sponge in saline, and it caught fire also. Davis' execution photographs clearly showed that his nose had been severely compressed by a badly fitted headstrap.
Here in iMemphis we will not tolerate crime, especially violent crime! Beware thugs because our iJudges do NOT have a revolving door policy!
iChief Robi
2 comments:
I volunteer to be the iSwitch Puller for ol Sparky, but only if I get to interrogate the thugs first.
ZOOGIE!!! Welcome back! You're hired.
Please send an email to ichief.robi@hotmail.com so we can upgrade your access.
:o)
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