When I was a high school senior in the spring of 1990, we actually went on a field trip to the penitentiary. We even visited death row and saw the electric chair. It was fascinating.
I found an inaccuracy in the report about the electric chair. The Virginia electric chair, was made by a man who created them for many prisons, Carl Adams. Adams made the same electric chair for New Jersey (retired), Virginia (retired) and South Carolina (active). In fact, if you look at pictures of the other electric chairs, you'll notice they all look similar. At the time, his design was revolutionary because it was the only design of the time to utilize an outside power source (utility company). According to Adam's records, Virginia bought the whole electric chair setup for $3,700, which also included the wooden chair that was created by The Trenton Pattern Works, which even included polished bronze trimmings, which made the chair even more creepy, imho. Adams was a big fan of outsourcing parts to local businesses (straps, the chair itself, electrical supplies, etc). However, as a side note, there was some controversy in Adam's Virginia sell. When he sold Virginia the electric chair, he charged the state $3,700. The deal was that 1/3 of the cash would be paid at the time of the order. Another 1/3 would be paid upon delivery with another $500 upon installation. There was a little conflict as the remaining balance was due at the time of the first execution. Adams even wrote E.F. Morgan (the former warden of VSP), complaining about not getting the rest of his money because there had been no execution, on Aug 28, 1908. However, on Oct. 13, 1908, they had their first execution and Adams received the rest of his money. One big reason this became an issue was because Adams would often go out-of-pocket to obtain materials for his clients, such as a $3,000 electrical apparatus, back in 1908. As a small business man, it put him in a bit of a financial bind, at the time. One flaw that E.F. Morgan had about the design was that he complained the original headpiece didn't fit African-American heads very well. Adams wrote him back that he would fix the design and not charge him for it because he wanted his clients to be happy. I guess that's why the final helmet looked like something from WWI, but it was spring-loaded to give a flexible fit with a huge electrode on top. Another time that Morgan contacted Adams was when they once held five electrocutions in one night. Morgan purchased an extra headpiece, legpiece, electrodes and sponges from Adams--I suppose they were going to alternate, due to the heat of each execution. Another point was that Adams used Morgan as a reference, of sorts. The electric chair business was a limited market, with few customers. Adams relied upon the satisfaction of his customers, such as Morgan, to sell other electric chair contracts, like how he sold South Carolina their electric chair. Other than the original Adams design, I guesstimate it was updated about five times in it's life, before retirement. There's the original Adam's design, which used a wheel to increase the voltage. Then I'm guessing there was a system of levers, which was popular in the 1930s. Then I know they had a system of two black switches, which was likely a 50s design. The final VSP version was updated to include GE hardware, including the GE Limitamp with a transformer with 6-8 bushings, which is what you hear engage in the Richard Boggs execution, when they push the button. Lastly, it was modernized to it's final form, when it was moved to Greenville, before finally being retired. Hope you found this useful!
When I was a high school senior in the spring of 1990, we actually went on a field trip to the penitentiary. We even visited death row and saw the electric chair. It was fascinating.
I found an inaccuracy in the report about the electric chair. The Virginia electric chair, was made by a man who created them for many prisons, Carl Adams. Adams made the same electric chair for New Jersey (retired), Virginia (retired) and South Carolina (active). In fact, if you look at pictures of the other electric chairs, you'll notice they all look similar. At the time, his design was revolutionary because it was the only design of the time to utilize an outside power source (utility company). According to Adam's records, Virginia bought the whole electric chair setup for $3,700, which also included the wooden chair that was created by The Trenton Pattern Works, which even included polished bronze trimmings, which made the chair even more creepy, imho. Adams was a big fan of outsourcing parts to local businesses (straps, the chair itself, electrical supplies, etc).
However, as a side note, there was some controversy in Adam's Virginia sell. When he sold Virginia the electric chair, he charged the state $3,700. The deal was that 1/3 of the cash would be paid at the time of the order. Another 1/3 would be paid upon delivery with another $500 upon installation. There was a little conflict as the remaining balance was due at the time of the first execution. Adams even wrote E.F. Morgan (the former warden of VSP), complaining about not getting the rest of his money because there had been no execution, on Aug 28, 1908. However, on Oct. 13, 1908, they had their first execution and Adams received the rest of his money. One big reason this became an issue was because Adams would often go out-of-pocket to obtain materials for his clients, such as a $3,000 electrical apparatus, back in 1908. As a small business man, it put him in a bit of a financial bind, at the time.
One flaw that E.F. Morgan had about the design was that he complained the original headpiece didn't fit African-American heads very well. Adams wrote him back that he would fix the design and not charge him for it because he wanted his clients to be happy. I guess that's why the final helmet looked like something from WWI, but it was spring-loaded to give a flexible fit with a huge electrode on top.
Another time that Morgan contacted Adams was when they once held five electrocutions in one night. Morgan purchased an extra headpiece, legpiece, electrodes and sponges from Adams--I suppose they were going to alternate, due to the heat of each execution.
Another point was that Adams used Morgan as a reference, of sorts. The electric chair business was a limited market, with few customers. Adams relied upon the satisfaction of his customers, such as Morgan, to sell other electric chair contracts, like how he sold South Carolina their electric chair.
Other than the original Adams design, I guesstimate it was updated about five times in it's life, before retirement. There's the original Adam's design, which used a wheel to increase the voltage. Then I'm guessing there was a system of levers, which was popular in the 1930s. Then I know they had a system of two black switches, which was likely a 50s design. The final VSP version was updated to include GE hardware, including the GE Limitamp with a transformer with 6-8 bushings, which is what you hear engage in the Richard Boggs execution, when they push the button. Lastly, it was modernized to it's final form, when it was moved to Greenville, before finally being retired.
Hope you found this useful!
Didn't know much about the prison was born in '82 and was 10 when they tore down
Fascinating. Thank you.
This was a very well researched and informative presentation. I learned a lot watching it.
I know all about Virginia's electric chair history
I worked there from 1980 to 1982. I was having out having a baby when that riot happened. My husband was working that night.