Archives

Though it may be hard to believe today, the electric chair was developed as a humane alternative to public hangings around 1880. It too has been largely replaced, but in its tenure ?Old Sparky? was responsible for some 4300 executions. Craig Brandon joins John to talk about his book The Electric Chair, an Un-American History. In it, he describes the early political battles that shaped the development of the chair, how the role of the executioner changed with methods of execution, and memorable stories of the people who were put to death in ?The Chair.?