Old Smokey Explained

Old Smokey is a euphemistic name given to the state prison electric chair in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. The term has sometimes been used to refer to electric chairs in general, and not the one used in any specific state.

New Jersey

New Jersey's Old Smokey is on display at the New Jersey State Police Museum. The chair's most notorious target was Richard Hauptmann, the man behind the Lindbergh kidnapping.[1]

The chair at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton was used in the electrocution of 159 men for capital punishment in New Jersey, starting with Saverio DiGiovanni on December 11, 1907,[2] [3] and ending with Ralph Hudson on January 22, 1963,[4] which also was the final execution carried out in New Jersey.[5] Hauptmann was executed on April 3, 1936.[6]

After the death penalty was abolished nationwide in 1972 following Furman v. Georgia, the chair was moved to storage and the chamber was converted to a visitor's center. In the 1980s, the chair was put on exhibit at the now-defunct Capital Punishment Museum, housed in a building at the New Jersey State Corrections Academy; after its curator died in 1995,[7] the chair was sent to the New Jersey State Museum and later was transferred to the New Jersey State Police Museum in Ewing Township,[8] [9] where it remains on display.[10] New Jersey abandoned electrocution in favor of lethal injection in 1983,[11] [12] then abolished capital punishment altogether in 2007.[13] [14]

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania electric chair was used in the electrocution of 348 men and two women for capital punishment in Pennsylvania at what is now SCI Rockview, starting with the execution of John Talap on February 15, 1915,[15] and ending with the execution of Elmo Smith on April 2, 1962.[16]

The chair was placed into storage in 1971 and reassembled in 1985,[17] but never was used again after Pennsylvania abolished electrocution in 1990 as an execution method, in favor of lethal injection.[18] [19] It is stored at the State Museum of Pennsylvania,[17] and has never been displayed.[18]

Tennessee

The electric chair at the Tennessee State Prison in Nashville also was nicknamed "Old Smokey",[20] and was used to execute 125 people for capital punishment in Tennessee between July 13, 1916 (Julius Morgan)[21] and November 7, 1960 (William Tines).[22]

After switching its primary method of execution to lethal injection in 2000,[23] Tennessee has given prisoners sentenced to capital punishment before then a choice between lethal injection or electrocution; the chair was moved to Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and refurbished by Fred A. Leuchter.[24] In 2014, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed a bill making the electric chair a backup method of execution if the drugs used in a lethal injection are not available.[25]

Since the chair was refurbished, Tennessee has executed six prisoners by electrocution:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Jersey State Police Museum. RoadsideAmerica.com. 12 August 2014.
  2. News: EXTRA! Electric chair at Trenton claims its first victim . December 11, 1907 . Camden Post-Telegram . 5 August 2024 . Newspapers.com.
  3. Book: Blackwell, Jon . Notorious New Jersey . 2008 . Rutgers University Press . 978-0-8135-4177-8 . 5 August 2024.
  4. News: Ralph Hudson dies in chair for murder . January 23, 1963 . Pottstown Mercury . 5 August 2024 . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: Last Execution in Jersey took Life of Murderer Who Didn't Want to Live . AP . December 5, 1976 . The New York Times . 5 August 2024.
  6. News: A Matter Of Life Or Death . Martin . Waldron . July 25, 1976 . The New York Times . 6 August 2024.
  7. News: On the Map; Just Visiting: A Prison Museum Takes Shape In West Trenton . Karen . DeMasters . February 1, 1998 . The New York Times . 6 August 2024.
  8. Web site: Capital Punishment Museum (Gone) . Roadside America . 6 August 2024.
  9. News: 1907: 'A comfortable seat in which to die' . Jon . Blackwell . The Trentonian . 6 August 2024.
  10. News: New Jersey State Police Museum Set to Reopen . Dan . Aubrey . August 11, 2021 . Community News . 6 August 2024.
  11. News: The New Jersey Senate passed a law Thursday that would make lethal injection the method for carrying out the state's death penalty . June 16, 1983 . UPI Archives . 5 August 2024.
  12. News: Jersey's Assembly Approves Death-by-Injection Measure . Alfonso A. . Narvaez . June 24, 1983 . The New York Times . 5 August 2024.
  13. News: Death Penalty Repealed in New Jersey . Jeremy W. . Peters . December 17, 2007 . The New York Times . 6 August 2024 . subscription.
  14. News: New Jersey Abolishes Death Penalty . December 17, 2007 . NPR . Associated Press . 6 August 2024.
  15. Web site: Rockview SCI . Michael . Fenton . Spring 2010 . Pennsylvania Center for the Book . 5 August 2024.
  16. News: Letting go of a child's unsolved murder after 75 years . Gordon . Glantz . MediaNews Group . April 29, 2022 . The Times Herald . 8 August 2024.
  17. News: A 'sexual psychopath' was the last man to be executed by electric chair in Pa. 60 years ago . Deb . Kiner . PennLive . 5 August 2024.
  18. News: Pennsylvania's electric chair . August 19, 2021 . Reading Eagle . 5 August 2024.
  19. News: Rockview to end electric chair use . Andy . Hunn . December 3, 1990 . PSU Collegian . 5 August 2024.
  20. News: Inmate Ronald Harries May Force Death Penalty Decision . March 13, 1983 . The Tennessean . 5 August 2024.
  21. News: Death chair's first victim . July 13, 1916 . The Tennessean . 6 August 2024 . Newspapers.com.
  22. News: Last East TN man to be executed was convicted of rape in 1957 . August 9, 2018 . 10 News WBIR . 6 August 2024.
  23. Web site: Capital punishment chronology . Tennessee Department of Correction . 5 August 2024.
  24. News: The Chair: 100 Years After Its First Use, Tennessee's Electric Chair Remains the State's Most Prolific Killer . Steven . Hale . July 7, 2016 . Nashville Scene . 5 August 2024.
  25. News: Tennessee brings back electric chair . AP . May 23, 2014 . CBS News . 6 August 2024.
  26. Web site: Tennessee Executions . Tennessee Department of Correction.
  27. News: Tenn. Executes Killer With Electric Chair . September 12, 2007 . CBS News . 5 August 2024.
  28. News: Tenn. man's last words in electric chair: 'Let's rock' . Kimberlee . Kruesi . Associated Press . November 1, 2018 . The Detroit News . 6 August 2024.
  29. News: Tennessee executes David Earl Miller by electric chair . Mariah . Timms . Matt . Lakin . Yihyun . Jeong . Natalie . Allison . December 6, 2018 . The Tennessean . 6 August 2024.
  30. News: Tennessee executes Stephen Michael West by electric chair . Mariah . Timms . Adam . Tamburin . Matt . Lakin . August 15, 2019 . The Tennessean . 6 August 2024.
  31. News: Tennessee executes Lee Hall by electric chair . Mariah . Timms . Adam . Tamburin . December 5, 2019 . The Tennessean . 6 August 2024.
  32. News: why This Inmate Chose the Electric Chair Over Lethal Injection . Rick . Rojas . February 19, 2020 . The New York Times . 6 August 2024.

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