Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 August 1890 — KEMMLER IS EXECUTED. [ARTICLE]

KEMMLER IS EXECUTED.

One of the Most Remarkable Cun of Criminal Punishment. The execution by electricity of Wm, Kemmler, who murdered his mistress, Tillie Zeigler, at Buffalo, N. Y., March 29 1889, took place at 7 o’clock, Wednesday morning at the State’s prison at Auburn, N. Y. The murder was the first that had been committed in that State after the law to kill murderers by electricity had become operative, and great interest was taken in the execution. About 6 o'clock Wednesday morning the witnesses began to arrive at the prison, and by 6:30 o’clock all were present and seated in a little circle around the execution chamber waiting for the appearance of the Warden and his charge. At 6:38 the' door at the right of the execution chamber leading toward the execution roonl opened, and Warden Durston’s figure appeared in the doorway. Behind him walked a spruce looking, broad-shouldered little man, full bearded, with carefully arranged hair clustering around his forehead. He was dressed in a suit of new clothing, a sack coat anefvest of dark gray"material, trousersofmixe3" yenow pattern, a whits' shirt, whose polished front was exposed directly below a little bow of lawn of a black and white check pattern. This was William Kemmler, the man who was about to undergo the sentence of death. Behind him walked Dr. W. E. Houghton and Chaplain Yates. Kemmler was by far the coolest man in tho party. After taking off his coat he sat down in the electric chair as though he was sitting down to dinner. Warden Durston and George Vialing, of Albany, immediately began to adjust the straps around Kemmler’s body, the condemned man holding up his arms so as to give them evory assistance. When the straps had been adjusted about the body the arms were fastened down, and the warden leaned over and parted Kemm*. ler’s feet so as to bring his legs near the legs of the chair. While the straps were being arranged Kemmler said to the Warden and his assistant: “Take your time. Don’t be in a hurry. Be sure that everything is all right,” repeating the phrase two or three times. He seemed to have a greater interest in its success than those who had made the preparations for it, and who were watching its progress to its final fatal eonvlnaion. ~- The dynamo in the machine shop was running at good speed and the volt meter on the wall registered a little more than 1,000 volts. At 6:43 the electric current was turned on. There was a sudden conn vulsion of the frame in the chair. A spasm went over it from head to foot, confined by the straps and springs that held it firmly so that no limb or other part of the body stirred more than a small fraction of an inch from its resting place. The twitching that the muscles of the face underwent gave to it for a moment an expression of pain. But no ery escaped from the lips, which were freeto move at will. The body remained in this rigid position for sevens teen seconds, and then the current was turned off. □As the index finger of his hand curved backward as the muscles contracted, it scraped a small hole in the skin which began to drop blood. “Turn the current on -instantly. This man is not dead,” cried Dr. Spitzka. Faces grew white and forms fell back from the chair. Warden Durs. ton sprang to the doorway and cried: “Turn on the current.” But the current could not beturned ou. When the signal to stop had come the operator had pressed the little button which gave the sign to the engineer to stop the dynamo. The operator sprang to the button and gave a sharp, quick signal. There was a rapid response’ but quick as it was, it was not quick enough to anticipate the signs of what may or may not have been reviving consciousness. The dynamo was run up to it 3 highest speed, and again and again the full current of 2,CQ5 volts was sent through the body in the chair. As the anxious group stood silently "Watching the body suddenly there arosr from it a- white vapor, bearing with it a pungent and sickening odor. The body was burning. Again there were cries to stop the current, and again the warden sprang to the door and gave the quick orde.' to his assistants. The current stopped, and again there was the relaxation of tae bony, No doubt this time' that the current had dong its work—if not well, at least corns pletely. Others, and among them Dr. Spitzka, stated with equal positiveness the conviction that the first shock killed Kemmler instantly. Dr. Daniel and Dr. Southwich (father of tho system of electrocidej, be lieve that Kemmler was dead, but they think that the current should have been continued longer than seventeen seconds, which was the official time of the contact. There is no way in which a positive determination of this question can be made. It will always remain unsolved. An autopsy began at 9 o’clock.