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The electric chair is an execution method in which the person being put to death is strapped to a chair and (its first use there in 1924). The electric chair has become a symbol of the Death Penalty . However, its use is on a decline, with Nebraska being the last state that uses it as a sole method of execution. CONTEMPORARY USE In the United States, most death sentences handed down are the result of persons being convicted of a statutory capital offense (i.e., an offense violating the laws of a particular U.S. state and punishable in that state by death). For such statutory capital offenses, State Legislatures are the authorizing bodies for death penalty allowance and any approved death penalty methods. Electrocution is currently an optional form of Execution in the U.S. State s of Alabama , Florida , South Carolina and Virginia , and the sole method of execution in Nebraska (the former four states allow the prisoner to choose Lethal Injection as an alternative method). In the states of Kentucky and Tennessee , the electric chair has been retired except for those whose capital crimes were committed prior to legislated dates in 1998. [''Kentucky 31 March 1998 , Tennessee 31 December 1998 '']. In both Kentucky and Tennessee, the method of execution authorized for crimes committed after these dates is Lethal Injection . The electric chair is an alternate form of execution approved for potential use in Illinois and Oklahoma if other forms of execution are found unconstitutional in the state at the time of execution. In Florida , the condemned may choose death by electrocution, but the default is Lethal Injection . Historically, once the person was attached to the Chair , various cycles (differing in voltage and duration) of A.C. current would be passed through the condemned's body, in order to fatally damage the internal organs (including the brain). The electric chair was first used in 1890. It was used by more than 25 states throughout the 20th century, acquiring nicknames such as Sizzlin' Sally , Old Smokey , Old Sparky , Yellow Mama , and Gruesome Gertie . From 1924 to 1976, the electric chair was used as method of capital punishment in the Philippines . In the late 20th century, the electric chair was removed as a form of execution in many U.S. states, and its use in the 21st century is very infrequent. HISTORY |
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