Neirdak
Banned
I think a good solution would be to butterfly away the use of electric chairs and to remplace electric chairs with guillotines in USA. The use of guillotines by US states or Federal government, after positive articles in newspapers presenting the guillotine as the most humane way to execute a criminal after the public "failure" of Kemmler's execution by electric chair, could later push other countries to adopt this solution.
After all, the state of New York committee was set to determine a new, more humane method of execution to replace hanging (1881).
It's a well-known fact that Kemmler's electrocution was a mess. The first 17-second passage of current failed to kill him and they had to shock him again, blood vessels exploded. He was litterally burnt alive from inside. The entire execution took about eight minutes. George Westinghouse later commented that "they would have done better using an axe," and a witnessing reporter claimed that it was "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging."
[POD] The idea could be to have a massive media and public campaign against the use of electric chairs and electric means of execution, followed by a ruling of the Federal Court forbidding them due to being "unconstitutionally cruel and unusual" in 1892. The Federal Court also states that "in order to avoid the use of unconstitutionally cruel and unusual means of execution the competent authority to consider and to select new means of execution to be used in USA is the federal one".
During the campaign, newspapers, doctors, representatives and common citizens ask for the introduction of guillotines as a humane way to execute criminals. US Congressmen and doctors are sent to France to study this modern mean of execution, they decide to select it, but consider that "The public display of executions by guillotine turns normal citizens into bloodlusted animals. We recommend the use of guillotines to be hidden from public eyes (and media) for the sake of morality, dignity and humanity".
In 1895, a Federal law introduces the use of the guillotines at federal level to remplace both hanging and executions by firing squads for federal crimes and military juridictions. States reluctantly agree to use guillotines and will be followed by foreign countries, which were influenced by USA IOTL. Having the federal authority solely competent for the selection of new methods of executions, can probably butterfly the use of gas chambers by Nevada (on a Chinese immigrant, damn racism) and later Oklahoma.
I think that guillotines could be used ITTL by various Islamic states as an alternative to beheading by swords (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Indonesia, Bahrain, Egypt, ...) alongside other methods. Countries influenced by USA (wars) or France would use guillotines too, like Iraq, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam and former french colonies. They would be used by military and/or civilian authorities sometimes alongside other methods of execution.
The difficulty is to butterfly the later use of lethal injections in USA and abroad, but it could also be used as an alternative to guillotines ...
After all, the state of New York committee was set to determine a new, more humane method of execution to replace hanging (1881).
From wiki : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_chair#Early_development
On December 30, 1889, the writ of habeas corpus sworn out on Kemmler's behalf was denied by the court, with Judge Dwight writing in a lengthy ruling:
"We have no doubt that if the Legislature of this State should undertake to prescribe for any offense against its laws the punishment of burning at the stake, breaking at the wheel, etc., it would be the duty of the courts to pronounce upon such attempt the condemnation of the Constitution. The question now to be answered is whether the legislative act here assailed is subject to the same condemnation. Certainly it is not so on its face, for, although the mode of death described is conceded to be unusual, there is no common knowledge or consent that it is cruel; it is a question of fact whether an electric current of sufficient intensity and skillfully applied will produce death without unnecessary suffering.
It's a well-known fact that Kemmler's electrocution was a mess. The first 17-second passage of current failed to kill him and they had to shock him again, blood vessels exploded. He was litterally burnt alive from inside. The entire execution took about eight minutes. George Westinghouse later commented that "they would have done better using an axe," and a witnessing reporter claimed that it was "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging."
[POD] The idea could be to have a massive media and public campaign against the use of electric chairs and electric means of execution, followed by a ruling of the Federal Court forbidding them due to being "unconstitutionally cruel and unusual" in 1892. The Federal Court also states that "in order to avoid the use of unconstitutionally cruel and unusual means of execution the competent authority to consider and to select new means of execution to be used in USA is the federal one".
During the campaign, newspapers, doctors, representatives and common citizens ask for the introduction of guillotines as a humane way to execute criminals. US Congressmen and doctors are sent to France to study this modern mean of execution, they decide to select it, but consider that "The public display of executions by guillotine turns normal citizens into bloodlusted animals. We recommend the use of guillotines to be hidden from public eyes (and media) for the sake of morality, dignity and humanity".
In 1895, a Federal law introduces the use of the guillotines at federal level to remplace both hanging and executions by firing squads for federal crimes and military juridictions. States reluctantly agree to use guillotines and will be followed by foreign countries, which were influenced by USA IOTL. Having the federal authority solely competent for the selection of new methods of executions, can probably butterfly the use of gas chambers by Nevada (on a Chinese immigrant, damn racism) and later Oklahoma.
I think that guillotines could be used ITTL by various Islamic states as an alternative to beheading by swords (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Indonesia, Bahrain, Egypt, ...) alongside other methods. Countries influenced by USA (wars) or France would use guillotines too, like Iraq, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam and former french colonies. They would be used by military and/or civilian authorities sometimes alongside other methods of execution.
The difficulty is to butterfly the later use of lethal injections in USA and abroad, but it could also be used as an alternative to guillotines ...
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