| John Arthur Spenkelink |
Article Index for John Arthur |
Website Links For John Arthur |
Information AboutJohn Arthur Spenkelink |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT JOHN ARTHUR SPENKELINK | |
| 1949 births | |
| spenkelink, john arthur | |
| 1979 deaths | |
| people executed for murder | |
| people executed by electric chair | |
| spenkelink john arthur | |
| 20th century executions by the united states | |
|
John Arthur Spenkelink (born March 29 , 1949 San Diego , California - died May 25 , 1979 Raiford , Florida ) was the first man to be executed in the Electric Chair after the reintroduction of the Death Penalty in the United States in 1976 . He struggled violently as he was being brought to his death. After serving in a California prison for petty crimes he travelled to Florida with another prison inmate. He was condemned to death in 1973 for murdering a travelling companion whom Spenkelink alleged had offered him Homosexual relations and forced him to play Russian Roulette in a Tallahassee motel in Florida . After the execution rumors spread that the fighting, shouting Spenkelink had been dragged to the electric chair, gagged, beaten and had his neck broken. Because of the rumors, Spenkelink's body was Exhume d for an Autopsy and the State decided to perform autopsies on all executed inmates. Some witnesses believe that he was already dead when he was placed in the electric chair. He is known for his quote: " Capital Punishment : those without the capital get the punishment." REFERENCES
|
|
|