Definitions for electric chair
elec·tric cha·ir

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. electric chair, chair, death chair, hot seatnoun

   an instrument of execution by electrocution; resembles an ordinary seat for one person

   "the murderer was sentenced to die in the chair"

GCIDERate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. electric chairnoun

   a device used for execution of criminals, consisting of a specially designed chair in which the victim is killed by passing a large current of electricity through the body. This method of killing is called electrocution.

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. electric chairnoun

   A device used for performing execution by electrocution.

2. electric chairnoun

   An electrically powered wheelchair

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Electric chair

   An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, conceived in 1881 by a Buffalo, New York dentist named Alfred P. Southwick, was developed throughout the 1880s as a supposed humane alternative to hanging, and first used in 1890. The electric chair has been used in the United States and, for several decades, in the Philippines. While death was originally theorized to result from damage to the brain, it was shown in 1899 that it primarily results from ventricular fibrillation and eventual cardiac arrest.Although the electric chair has long been a symbol of the death penalty in the United States, its use is in decline due to the rise of lethal injection, which is widely believed to be a more humane method of execution. While some states still maintain electrocution as a legal method of execution, today it is only maintained as a secondary method that may be chosen over lethal injection at the request of the prisoner, except in Tennessee and South Carolina, where it may be used without input from the prisoner if the drugs for lethal injection are not available. As of 2021, electrocution is an optional form of execution in the states of Alabama and Florida, both of which allow the prisoner to choose lethal injection as an alternative method. In the state of Kentucky, the electric chair has been retired, except for those who were sentenced to death for an offense committed prior to March 31, 1998, and who choose electrocution; inmates who do not choose electrocution and inmates sentenced to death for crimes committed after that date are executed by lethal injection. Electrocution is also authorized in Kentucky in case lethal injection is found unconstitutional by a court. The electric chair is an alternate form of execution approved for potential use in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma if other forms of execution are found unconstitutional in the state at the time of execution. On February 8, 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that execution by electric chair was a "cruel and unusual punishment" under the state's constitution. This brought executions by this method to an end in Nebraska, which had been the last remaining state to retain electrocution as its sole method of execution.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. electric chair

   An electric chair is a device used for capital punishment by electrocution. It is a form of execution wherein a person is strapped to a specially constructed chair and electrical currents are passed through the body, causing fatal damage to the internal organs and the brain. This method has been largely replaced by others such as lethal injection in many U.S states where capital punishment is legal.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Electric chair

   Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body. This execution method was created by employees of Thomas Edison during the War of Currents, and has been used only in the United States and, for a period of several decades, in the Philippines. Historically, once the condemned person was attached to the chair, various cycles of alternating current would be passed through the individual's body, in order to cause fatal damage to the internal organs. The first jolt of electric current was designed to cause immediate unconsciousness and brain death; the second one was designed to cause fatal damage to the vital organs. Death was frequently caused by electrical overstimulation of the heart. Although in the United States the electric chair has become a symbol of the death penalty, its use is in decline due to the rise of lethal injection, which is widely believed to be a more humane method of execution. Although some states still maintain electrocution as a method of execution, today it is only maintained as a secondary method that may be chosen over lethal injection at the request of the prisoner. As of 2010, electrocution is an optional form of execution in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Virginia. They allow the prisoner to choose lethal injection as an alternative method. In the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, the electric chair has been retired except for those whose capital crimes were committed prior to legislated dates in 1998 and who chose electrocution. In both states, inmates who do not choose electrocution or inmates who committed their crimes after the designated date are killed by lethal injection. The electric chair is an alternate form of execution approved for potential use in Arkansas and Oklahoma if other forms of execution are found unconstitutional in the state at the time of execution. It is the sole method of execution in Vermont, where treason is the only capital crime. On February 8, 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court determined that execution by electric chair was a "cruel and unusual punishment" under the state's constitution. This brought executions of this type to an end in Nebraska, the only remaining state to retain electrocution as its sole method of execution for murder.

Matched Categories

1. • Instrument Of Execution

How to pronounce electric chair?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

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   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say electric chair in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of electric chair in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of electric chair in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=electric chair
2. ^ GCIDE
   https://gcide.gnu.org.ua/?q=electric chair
3. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Electric_Chair
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Chair
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=electric chair