The evening world., 1890-08-09
WHY WERE THE LAMPS IN!
EXPERTS SAY THEY CAUSED THE
BURNING OF KEMMLER

They reduced the current PASSING
ThrsuEh the Murdcrer'. Body aud
Delayed HE Denth-Dnrston says
the Execution Was n succeas.
Electrical experts are astounded at the
revelations of carolessness. ignorance, or
worse. that was responsible for the twenty
incRndescent lamps being left in the cir
cult, when applied to kemmler, rs related
in TIE Womb yesterday. The eNrcrts
unite in dcnouncinR this piece of stupldity
or knavery. but they also point to 1t as
another evidence that electrical executions
arc unreliable, and should be stopped.
Electricity, in itself, is no more uncertain
than watei-power. Ii Ia governed By nNed
rules, based on ampcrrs, vuitr, and ohns ny,
To- make it palmer to the lay m.nd. or Unan-
tlty, force and resistance. With either two
Of the elements known the third may be
determined by well-known rules. The volts
aud amperes combined give electrical
energy or the power for dclNern ng heat
motion or death. As the ohms increase III
number on circuit they resist tile passage
OF the energy and reduce the amount that
can be delivered by the current
Electrical experts agree that not less than
dynamo current can lie relied upon to kill
human beings instantly and painle,sly.
majority of the experts. in fact, insist that
at least two thousand volts are requisite to
absolute certainty in all cRses. without any
apparent reason therefor the medco-c.ec-
trical cxperts assume that "the average re-
sistante q. tlu human body is about two
Thousand five hundred olms." There also
-, 81, .
half al amperc OF current must pass through
human being to produce death INSTANTLY
and painiessly. To accomplish this,
assuming the resistance OF a human
being to electricity to be $500 ohms.
to establish curren. OF one-half
an ampere through the body would re-
quire 1.25o volts. Twenty incande.ceDt
lamps when burning affoid IA resistance OF
at least 1900 ohms. This resistance
added to that OF the human being wonld
make :, 900 ohms resistance in the circuit
and with ] 900 volts pressure would only
be capable OF forcing one-seventh OF ali
ampore through the human being.
This. according to the best authorities.
would not kill either instantly or painless
ly. In fact, even if there had been =, 900
volts pressure on the current less than one
third of an ampere would have passed
through Kemmler. 1t is doubtful il with
=. 900 volts he would have received even
one-fourth of an aInpere, as there in loss
at points of contact OF about one-sixth of
the current energy.
Warden Durston says the current varied
between 700 and .. 900 volts, while the |
electrician, Barnes, who had charge OF the
dynamo. says it did not go above l, 100. |
AS the voltage is (all other things being i'll
proper condition. entirely dependent on the |
speed Of the dynamo, Mr.. Barnes is the |
best judge of the voltage. According to his
statement, Kemmler. therefore allowing for |
loss of energy at points OF contact between |
him and the current, received less than one, |
seventh of an ampere as maximum and |
less than one-tenth as q minimum. Even SO |
small q current as one.tenth of an ampere |
would roast man to death. In fact there |
is no reason to doubt that Lineman Feeks, |
who lost his life so traGically at the corner
of Chambers and Centre streets. received no
more than one-tenth or one-eighth of an
ampere. But he was not killed instantly or
painlessly.
The variation of the current said to have
occurred at Auburn might be due TO poor
connections. either between the different
sections of wire. or in the machinery, or by
the dynamo running irregularly. However
it occurred. it could easily have been
avoided.
With q small voltage enough heat can be
to melt steel. and the charred
portions Of Kemmler's body were undoubt-
g dly due TO the heat OF the current having
dried the moisture in the connections with
hrs body. 1t requires time to generate
heat, and by advising the use % q 4 high
tinGuished before heat could DE generated to
such degree rs To burn.
These points were all made on behalf OF
kemmler reference. Bourke COckran's in
variable question to expert witnesses was;
is there any means known, to electrical
.cIenee by which a human being can be
Was no absolute certainty of instant and
pal Mess death was what the Company
osed hoS that e,esti6ns Ihs ~ssd wsIa
~ " unusual and cruel process and Smuui
.he law AunulliIg the law would prevent
he Westinghouze dynamos being used tor
executions. The Company feared that using
heir dynamos for executions would give
he public an exaggerated idea OF the dan
yer of the machines and IN are the sale
hereof aud thus reduce profits.
1t Is estimated that in fighting the law
through all OF the courts, from the County ,
IOurt at Euaa!o 20 the United States ,
ect their machines, the " Westinghouse Com I
Jauy spent S5u. 900 at leAst and IossIbiY
vice that much. A blunder such as Oc-
urred at Auburn could be provided for IN
Idvance with absolute certainty without the
assistance OF more THAI two men and possi-
,ly with only one inside tue prison. u
The man who turned the switclI is said TO I
ave been an ordinary crank, knowing moth v
ng Of electricity. but L. +. Davis. the cleo 4
rieian who was in charge of tue witches, q
I he knows ANYTHING about electricity, WHs I
ware that those twenty lamps were detrI- /
nent to the circuit. Ii lie ID really {
n electrician he knew that those :
amps would a. least make il very
nubtful whether Reminder wonld be killed
= instantly aud pAinlessly." " OF courNe he
new the lamps we're IN the circuit, and Le
hould have known that properly arranged
witch would cut the lamDs out OF the circuit
lhen Keulmler was switched in.
Warden DuTstOn acknowledges that he
new the lamps we're burning while the cur
ent was applied "a hemmler, bnt he Will
rohGbly clam that, not being an electrician.
Q did not know what effect they Would have :
"A the current. Without being advised as
o the result in kemmler's case any cleo :
rician worthy OF the name could in two !
minutes, II given the condition Of the cir
uit. figure out the probable effect IL WoUld
ave on a human being. And II would hg-
re out theoretically precisely as 1t would
d practice.