The First Electric Chair Execution

On this episode, Beard Laws and Meg discuss the story of the first electric chair execution that during a vacation to Lake Placid, the hosts stumbled upon a tasting room for Prison City Brewery and learned about the story behind one of their beers called Crispy Boys. This led to a discussion about the history of the electric chair and the infamous execution of William Kemmler. The episode explores the context of capital punishment in the late 19th century, the battle between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over electrical currents, and the development of the electric chair. The botched execution of Kemmler raised ethical questions about the death penalty and the methods used to carry it out.

Check out our friends of the show!

Milwaukee Pretzels: https://milwaukeepretzel.com/

Vermont Flannels: https://vermontflannels.com/beardlaws

Copper Johns Beard: http://thebestbeardproducts.com

Episode Highlights

Lake Placid is home to Prison City Brewery, which has a beer called Crispy Boys with a controversial name.

The electric chair was developed as a more humane method of execution and was adopted by the state of New York.

The execution of William Kemmler in the electric chair was botched, leading to public outcry and improvements in the method.

Kemmler's case raised ethical questions about the death penalty and the intersection of technology, ethics, and law.

Episode Quotes

"She refused to drink it and actually left because the name Crispy Boy, she thought, was inspired by the electrocution chair."

"The electric chair was actually developed by Alfred P. Southawik. What do think the P stands for? Paul."

"The botched execution horrified those present and actually led to a public outcry."

Check out all the podcast on the Beard Laws Studio: https://beardlawsstudio.com

Check out the interactive map at https://yoretown.com

Yore Town Podcast is a podcast that features your towns dark, wild, unbelievable past that has you thinking no way that really happened here. Matt and Megh dust off the books, hit the streets and an occasional nursing home to unveil Yore Town’s past. From small towns to where we live to big cities before they were what they are today. This is Yore Town, Yore Stories

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.