The Execution of William Kemmler

This is the third of three posts about William Kemmler, a 28-year old vegetable peddler from Buffalo, New York, who played an inadvertent supporting role in the struggle between George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison commonly referred to as the War of the Currents.

As detailed in the two previous posts, in June 1889 Kemmler was convicted of murdering his girlfriend in a drunken rage and sentenced to become the first person to be executed by electricity. Legal proceedings took a year, but by the following summer rulings had determined Kemmler’s fate.

As Kemmler prepared to meet eternity, the preparations were finalized to send him there, as The New York Times reported on August 2, 1890.

But all was not ready. On August 3, 1890, the Times reported on Warden Durston’s quick railroad trip to Philadelphia so that a crucial piece of equipment could be repaired.

On August 4, 1890, The Times published a package of articles speculating further on the reasons for Warden Durston’s trip, Kemmler’s mental state, and when he’d be taken to the electric chair.

The Times continued its Kemmler deathwatch coverage on August 5, 1890 with new reporting, further analysis, and some serious speculation about the need for autopsies on prisoners who have been executed.

On August 6, 1890, the Times reported in detail on how Kemmler passed his last day of life and the crowds who had gathered to witness his execution.

Finally, on August 7, 1890, the New York Times reported at length on William Kemmler’s execution. The front page headline that began the package tells the story.

The essential results were that Kemmler’s execution took nearly eight minutes, because the electrical voltage was lower and less consistent than plans called for. After an inital jolt of power, Kemmler was still alive. So the switch was thrown a second time.

The following stream of articles provide plenty of detail, especially considering only 24 hours had elapsed since the execution.

In addition to details of the gristly proceedings, the package includes the details and results of Kemmler’s autopsy, finger pointing about what went wrong and who was responsible.

They conclude with comments from Thomas Edison about what went wrong and from George Westinghouse, who said, “They could have done better with an axe.”

Recriminations for the botched execution continued, as reported in this New York Times article on August 8, 1890.

A brief editorial ran on the front page of the same August 8, 1890 issue.

The details of Kemmler’s execution alarmed other prisoners on New York’s death row, as this article reported on August 9, 1890.

On August 12, 1890, New York Times editors considered the ramifications of not only electrical executions but capital punishment in general.

On August 16, 1890, the Times reported on the impact of the Kemmler case on the court of appeals and the court of public opinion.

On August 18, 1890, The New York Times reported on the continuing investigation of what went wrong in Kemmler’s execution. The responsibility has fallen on Prison Warden Durston.

Finally on November 11, 1890, the Times reported on a paper that had been presented to the Society of Medical Jurisprudence.

This concludes The Westinghouse Legacy’s look at Kemmler’s case.

If you missed the previous posts check out:

The Case of William Kemmler

The Appeals of William Francis Kemmler