The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1912-08-01
DEATH CHAIR NOW
READY FOR Use.
WORK OF ELECTROCUTING PRIS-
ONERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
SOON TO BEGIN.

Assembly ll!edSlIc was pe'ooSu @No
stituting electrocution for hanging
in South Carolina in capital cases.
The measure provides that all pris-
oners under sentence Of death must
pay the penalty at the State pen-
tentiary. After several months
work the death house has been COM
pleted at the State prison and the
electric chair has been installed. The
first prisoner to be electrocuted will
be William Reed. The electrocutlon
will be held on August 5. Reed
was to have been electrocuteG in
July. The building was not COM
pleted, so the Governor, upon re-
quest of Capt D J Griffith, superln-
tendent of the penitentiary, reprlev-
ed several prisoners until August.
Other prisoners under sentence OF
death are Isaiah Butler, August IA;
John Cole, August 22; Ernest Null
wee, August 80. The execution of
Sam Hyde, the Anderson county man
who was convicted Of killing his
wife, has been set for September 3.
A commission of physicians was ap-
pointed to examine Hyde and make
a report on his sanity. Should the
report be favoroble the Governor
will be urged to commute the SEN
tence to life imprisonment.
The electrocution building was
erected under the supervision Of
the Board of Directors of the State
penitentiary and Capt Griffith. The
plant as completed cost about SS,-
600. The new building which is
60 by 40 feet is located near the
main building and is of brick. The
work on the building commenced
early in June and everything has
been completed.
Itwas erected under the supervis-
ion of A w Todd, the Charleston
architect. The structure is of red
brick, one story high, with a white
inside finish. A score of large OBJ
long windows, just below the edge
of the roof. give plenty of light to
all sections.
The detention cells, six in number,
are found to the right of the en-
trance. Each cell is we'll lighted,
roomy and contains a toilet arrange
ment. Heavy iron bars are placed
across the front of the cell, There
is a space about two feet between
the bars and steel network. This
network is placed on the outside to
prevent the giving of any instru-
ment or poison with which priso-
ner condemned to death might COM
NIT suicide. All visitors to the de-
tention ward will be accompanied
by a guard.
Under the terms of the electrocu-
ton law all prisoners condemned to
death must be brought to the State
penitentiary not more than 20 days
and not less than 2 days before the
date assigned for the execution.
The prisoners will be placed in the
detention cells. At present there
are four prisoners at the penlten-
tiary awaiting execution. They are
confined to the old prison building
and will be transferred to the new
building in few days. The deten-
ton cells will be comfortably fur
nished. Noprovision has been made
for heating the building. A large
oil stove will probably be used in the
corridors adjacent to the cells. The
building and cells are so strongly
and securely constructed that a
guard will not be necessary. One
of the guard towers is located on
the front wall of the penitentlary
near the new building. A full view
of the death house can be had from
the guard tower.
A hallway leads from the entrance
through the building, the detention
cells being on the right and the