Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1888-10-19
chp,rAl PUNISHMENT.


Hanging said to Produce Death H"ioNo'
Than Electricity
A. recent meeting OF the Medico-
Lccal Society, DR. William A. HAM
mond. the eminent specialist anu
physiologist, discussed the subject Oh
Genital punishment by hanging ana
electricity. He and several OF his col
leacues wore of the opinion that hang
inc was the more painless and certain
~ the two methods of inflicting legal
da,tb. AS this State has changed us
laws. substituting electricity Tor the
rlns5lc rope, the subject was one OF
GREAT interest from medlco-leSal
point of view.
For interest of science and the en-
tbanasia of would-be murderers In
peneral. several well-known surgeons
determined to perform a series OF eX-
periments on living animals TO deciue
fhe question, and their results, which
arc about to be published in we'll
known scientific journal, are consld-
a,ed of special Importance The eX-
! na,imanters were DIR. b. Curtiss, DIR.
| Geo. Brown Phelps and II. 5. Lewis.
They were assisted by three medical
students.
Their programme was:
!. Time required TO produce death
by hanging.
| ,. Time required to produce death
by electricity.
5. Post-mortem appearances
Ja.,th nv ait hon.
method.
The experiments were chiefly car
ried on at the Carnegie laboratory.
Boys were employed to obtain the I'M
fortunate CANNES, and all collision
with the Society for the Prevention OF
Cruelty to Animals was carefully
avoided by secresy.
The room, or laboratory. in which
The experiments were made was at tho
rear of the building, on the fifth floor.
A powerful electric dynamo was OBJ
tanned and Il gibbet of the most APP
proved pattern erected. Room was
also provided for the dogs who should
be resuscitatcd after apparent death by
either means. The animals were Sc
curely muzzled before the experiments
were attempted, but this did not pre-
vent their bowling The details of
each experiment will be published by
the eXperimenters. The results were
greatly in favor of hanging. Out of a
hundred dogs fifty We're hung and fifty
submitted to the electric discharge.
III those hung twenty were dead in
less than five minutes, and from post
norton examination it was APP
parent that they died almost in
SANITY. Five out of the fifty
were resuscitated, and are alive,
but they were all small. II
was found that the heavier the anima
the quicker tho result of death was OBJ
tanned. and whore weight was added
} 10 the dogs weight death. seemed u
take place instantaneously. OF The
. fifty submitted TO the electric discharge
= Of the strength and in the manner pre-
= 5clibed by the State law for the deatl
q Of criminals, instant death was pro
ducel in only five experiments
: required on the average ten minute.
! to kill, and in eighteen instances tn,
animal was easily resuscitated. II
seven he came to without the slight
est treatment within two hours afteI
apparent death. The prescribed dis
charge entirely failed to produce
death in three instances, and one 0
/ -hcse three dogs came to after doubl,
/ the strength OF electric discharge ha,
u bean given.
From the post-mortem appearance o
the brain and nerve centers, and iron
J. other things observed, the expert
= menter concluded that the electric dis
y charge caused the intensest agony, es
= pecially when not strong enough {
: kill at once, while in the case of hang
- ING the evidence pointed to immediat
= paralysis OF the nerve centers and
, painless death. Such are the chief re
suits of their Investigations. N. \
Letter.