Executioner's Current

Zusatztext Fascinating and provocative. . . . Moran skillfully used the story of the creation of the electric chair to illustrate the brutal clash between Edison and Westinghouse. Washington Post Book World Fascinating. . . . Moran conclusively shows that Edison hoped to discredit alternating current--by associating it in the public mind with death--and advance his own direct current." Los Angeles Times "Chilling. . . . A 'Coke-versus-Pepsi' story as if told by Stephen King. . . . A macabre jolt of history." Chicago Sun-Times A remarkable account. . . . A fantastic tale! well told. Forbes [An] engaging analysis of the relationship between electrocution and the personal and corporate battles waged between Edison and Westinghouse. Louis P. Masur! Chicago Tribune Richard Moran shows us not only how the death penalty in America affects condemned prisoners! but also how it is used by powerful interests in our society to further their own political and economic ends. . . . Five stars! and three cheers! for Professor Moran! Sister Helen Prejean! author of Dead Man Walking Riveting. . . . Moran [has a] lively reportorial style. . . . In this narrative of callous ambition and hypocrisy! a condemned criminal plays an unexpectedly dignified role. Seattle Weekly "Compelling. . . . Reads like pages torn from today's headlines about nefarious CEOs and corporate greed." Albany Times Union Haunting. Incisive A chilling look at something that has become a too-common theme of modern times: the use of technology to develop new ways of killing. Roanoke Times An eye-opening and riveting account of the battle for the future of electricity and the part that played in changing the technology of execution. Wilmington Sunday News Journal Informationen zum Autor Richard Moran Klappentext In this amazing story of high stakes competition between two titans! Richard Moran shows how the electric chair developed not out of the desire to be more humane but through an effort by one nineteenth-century electric company to discredit the other. In 1882! Thomas Edison ushered in the "age of electricity when he illuminated Manhattan's Pearl Street with his direct current (DC) system. Six years later! George Westinghouse lit up Buffalo with his less expensive alternating current (AC). The two men quickly became locked in a fierce rivalry! made all the more complicated by a novel new application for their product: the electric chair. When Edison set out to persuade the state of New York to use Westinghouse's current to execute condemned criminals! Westinghouse fought back in court! attempting to stop the first electrocution and keep AC from becoming the "executioner's current. In this meticulously researched account of the ensuing legal battle and the horribly botched first execution! Moran raises disturbing questions not only about electrocution! but about about our society's tendency to rely on new technologies to answer moral questions. Leseprobe ChapterOone "William, It Is Time" In the predawn hours of August 6, 1890, twenty-seven men of law, science, and medicine left their lodgings at the Osborne House and quietly made their way down State Street toward Auburn Penitentiary. It was a dull and gloomy morning with a few wet clouds in the sky. The night before had not been an easy one, and the results were written on the faces of each hunched figure. As the men walked, there was little conversation. Nearing the prison, they encountered a crowd of nearly five hundred spectators. Every tree and rooftop surrounding the ivy-covered stone prison was filled with expectant faces, and young men and boys were perched atop telegraph poles, eager to catch a glimpse of the condemned man scarcely visible through the narrow windo...

Autorentext

Richard Moran

Klappentext

In this amazing story of high stakes competition between two titans, Richard Moran shows how the electric chair developed not out of the desire to be more humane but through an effort by one nineteenth-century electric company to discredit the other.

In 1882, Thomas Edison ushered in the "age of electricity” when he illuminated Manhattan's Pearl Street with his direct current (DC) system. Six years later, George Westinghouse lit up Buffalo with his less expensive alternating current (AC). The two men quickly became locked in a fierce rivalry, made all the more complicated by a novel new application for their product: the electric chair. When Edison set out to persuade the state of New York to use Westinghouse's current to execute condemned criminals, Westinghouse fought back in court, attempting to stop the first electrocution and keep AC from becoming the "executioner's current.” In this meticulously researched account of the ensuing legal battle and the horribly botched first execution, Moran raises disturbing questions not only about electrocution, but about about our society's tendency to rely on new technologies to answer moral questions.

Zusammenfassung
A "fascinating and provocative" story (The Washington Post) of high stakes competition between two titans that shows how the electric chair developed through an effort by one nineteenth-century electric company to discredit the other.

In 1882, Thomas Edison ushered in the “age of electricity” when he illuminated Manhattan’s Pearl Street with his direct current (DC) system. Six years later, George Westinghouse lit up Buffalo with his less expensive alternating current (AC). The two men quickly became locked in a fierce rivalry, made all the more complicated by a novel new application for their product: the electric chair. When Edison set out to persuade the state of New York to use Westinghouse’s current to execute condemned criminals, Westinghouse fought back in court, attempting to stop the first electrocution and keep AC from becoming the “executioner’s current.” In this meticulously researched account of the ensuing legal battle and the horribly botched first execution, Moran raises disturbing questions not only about electrocution, but about about our society’s tendency to rely on new technologies to answer moral questions.

Leseprobe
ChapterOone

"William, It Is Time"

In the predawn hours of August 6, 1890, twenty-seven men of law, science, and medicine left their lodgings at the Osborne House and quietly made their way down State Street toward Auburn Penitentiary. It was a dull and gloomy morning with a few wet clouds in the sky. The night before had not been an easy one, and the results were written on the faces of each hunched figure. As the men walked, there was little conversation. Nearing the prison, they encountered a crowd of nearly five hundred spectators. Every tree and rooftop surrounding the ivy-covered stone prison was filled with expectant faces, and young men and boys were perched atop telegraph poles, eager to catch a glimpse of the condemned man scarcely visible through the narrow window of his lighted cell. Western Union had opened a temporary office across from the penitentiary in the dimly lit freight room of the New York Central railroad station. Inside, newspapermen and telegraph operators anxiously waited to dispatch word around the world that the first execution by electricity had taken place.

Although a ticket of admission had been issued to each witness, the men had difficulty gaining entrance to the prison. The crowd was reluctant to give way and security was tight. Warden Charles Durston had ordered the gatekeeper not to let anyone in without a ticket; one witness who had forgotten his was forced to return to the hotel to fetch it. Even the morning shift of guards was not permitted to enter the prison until the bells rang, signifying a completed execution. District Attorney George Quinby, who had prosecuted the condemned man, looked pale as he walked through the prison gate below the statue of the C…