In December 1890, legal discussions and state reports revisited the August execution of William Kemmler, the first person electrocuted in the United States, as officials evaluated the new method. New York authorities defended the procedure in late-year documents and speeches, arguing it was more humane than hanging. Critics described the August execution as gruesome and questioned the ethics of using electricity to kill. December reviews signaled that despite controversy, states would continue to adopt the electric chair. Over the following decades, electrocution became a common method of execution in many U.S. jurisdictions. The debates foreshadowed later arguments over lethal injection and capital punishment more broadly.
