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Simple English definitions for legal terms
electric chair
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A quick definition of electric chair:
Electric chair: A special chair that is used to execute people who have been sentenced to death. The chair is connected to a powerful electrical current that is passed through the person's body, causing death. The electric chair was first used in 1890 in New York.
A more thorough explanation:
An electric chair is a device used to execute a person by passing a lethal electric current through their body. The chair is wired with electrodes that are attached to the condemned person's head and leg.
The electric chair was first used in 1890 at the Auburn State Prison in New York. Since then, it has been used as a method of execution in several states in the United States.
For example, in 2018, the state of Tennessee used the electric chair to execute a man named Edmund Zagorski. He had been convicted of murder and had chosen the electric chair as his method of execution.
The use of the electric chair as a method of execution is controversial and has been criticized for being inhumane. However, it remains a legal method of execution in some states.