Posted on 09/11/2007 4:32:35 PM PDT by Westlander
Tennessee's electric chair is to be used to execute a prisoner despite warnings from the chair's designer the voltage is too low.
Daryl Keith Holton, 45, is scheduled to die at 1 a.m. Wednesday in Nashville for the 1997 killings of his three young sons and his ex-wife's 4-year-old daughter, USA Today reported Tuesday.
It would be Tennesse's first execution by electric chair in 47 years.
Holton chose the chair rather than lethal injection, as was his right under state law, despite warnings the chair's voltage is too low from modifications made in the 1990s, the newspaper said.
Fred Leuchter, who built the chair in 1989, said using it is tantamount to torture because the voltage is 1,750 volts, as specified by the state, and needs to be at least 2,000 volts, USA Today reported.
State officials maintain the chair is inspected quarterly, was tested last week, and will be used as planned.
Why did they modify it in the 1990’s? Was there some problem before?
Although, if they guy killed his own kids, this would be a risk free way to see if it works at 1,750 volts. If it doesn’t, resulting in a torturous death, oh well. We’ll use 2,000 volts on the next one.
It isn’t the volts that kill you. It’s the amps.
Yeah, but the volts push the amps, I think in addition to a large inductance in electric chair systems.
Of course, they are going green by saving energy!
If the guy fries, what effect will it have on agw? Al Gore acolytes want to know.
Just no barking dogs or panties on his head...please...for the love of God.
1 shot to the head.. cheaper and greener!
Hey use it as is. If it doesn’t work the first time, juice him again until he’s dead. I doubt he showed any mercy to who he murdered.
Hey use it as is. If it doesn’t work the first time, juice him again until he’s dead. I doubt he showed any mercy to who he murdered.
Except for the lead. In Kalifornia, they’re working on banning lead ammo for “environmental” reasons. I think it’s more like just “mental” reasons.
Just leave the juice on longer, he won’t feel it anyway once the first surge hits him. Send this devil to his father.
So, go on over to the hardware store and buy a damned two-cycle generator to boost the power!
In the article in the Tennessean regarding the volts/amps, I seem to remember that the amps were (seemingly to me) rediculously low, like 7. I don’t know electricity, so I don’t understand. Does that sound right?
Zackly.
Your post correlates to your screen name. I love it.
Actually, it's the joules (volts x amps x seconds) that kill. And remember Ohm's law- the amperage increases with the voltage, so doubling the voltage quadruples the power delivered. Thus, 2000 volts will deliver 30% more power than 1750 volts meaning that it will kill faster.
Just put a penny in the fuse box and let ‘er rip!
This chair was obviously purchased from Wal-Mart. I’m having mental images of confusing directions. Screw side “A” into this side, with the little black screws in the packet that’s always one short.
I agree with you. As long as he is dead in the end I really don’t care if he suffers.
The chickenshit governor will stop it.
He has a liberal soul nad lacks the courage for having an execution on his watch
Certainly possible. Even currents in the 5-50 milliamp range (1000ths of an amp) can be fatal depending on the path through the body, general health of the victim, and other circumstances, so 7 amps could very easily be fatal given the head-to-arms-and-feet path.
What’s wrong with giving him a face mask and flooding it with pure nitrogen?
One lungful and you’re unconscious due to anoxia.
Death follows within minutes.
No poisonous gasses, no searching for a junkies collapsed veins, no high voltage, no smoke, no dangle and strangle, no missed shots...
Hows this for a bumper sticker?
"Volts Don't Kill People
Amps Kill People"
and let the guy simmer for an hour or so!
My understanding, it is not the voltage that kills, it is the amperage - thus the reason that you can get hit with a 100K volt taser and not die (sure might make you want too...).
Beat me to it. He’s an unsavory character, and has to be playing some angle here.
It doesn’t take a high amperage to kill, the key is the total amount of energy delivered. The reason for the low amperage is that the human body is not a very good conductor, which is why the voltage has to be so high.
Okay, back to the physics. The amount of energy delivered depends on three things, the volts (simply put, the amount of energy in the electrons), the amps (the rate at which the electrons are flowing), and time. The amperage depends on two things- the voltage and the resistance of the circuit. Increase the voltage or reduce the resistance and you increase the power delivered, which is why household current will kill you if you’re in a bathtub but will only make you jump around and swear a lot if you’re dry. The third factor is time; the lower the power delivered the longer it takes to kill, which is why a higher voltage in the chair makes for a more humane execution.
I could hear Bender’s voice with that post! Love that metal dude.
Hmm. Copper bullets, interesting. Aren’t Barnes hunting bullets mostly copper? What is the advantage in a self defense round? Isn’t weight a key factor in stopping power? Isn’t it hard to get the same weight with copper as with lead?
Hmm. Copper bullets, interesting. Aren’t Barnes hunting bullets mostly copper? What is the advantage in a self defense round? Isn’t weight a key factor in stopping power? Isn’t it hard to get the same weight with copper as with lead?
Actually, the reason a taser won’t kill you is that the shock is very brief. The volts and amps are both high, but it only lasts for a few milliseconds so not a whole lot of energy is delivered.
if a state didn’t purchase Leuchter’s services, he would testify at the last minute for the condemned man that the state’s death chamber might malfunction.”
Here is a question I've always had re death penalty and "pain and suffering"; if you want it quick, certain, and painless, what the heck is wrong with the guillotine? And talk about your deterrence factor....
Put a bag on his head and ...
Actually, the reason a taser won’t kill you is that the shock is very brief.
How is that possible? One lungful of nitrogen isn't going to deoxygenate all the blood already circulating in your body, nor remove the oxygen and glucose already in the brain.
So does this and it never misses.
Step away from the keg... 
and keep you hands where we can see them!
It ain't because you heared me... 
It is you standing too close to the beer keg.
is best used for after dinner events.
“Volts Don’t Kill People, Amps Kill People”
That’s a good one!!!
Another FreePer TShirt or Tagline!
A paltry 250 watt savings. I say they should hook him up to enough solar panels to get the job done, no matter how long it takes.
I didn’t say you would be instantly unconscious. It might take several heartbeats to circulate the non-oxygenated blood to the brain.
Good question, though...
It would appear then that this guy wants to be executed at a low voltage.
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