Is Electrocution an Unconstitutional Method of Execution? The Engineering of Death Over the Century

Authors

Deborah W. Denno, Fordham University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

William and Mary Law Review

Volume

35

Publication Date

1994

Keywords

electrocution, electric chair, death penalty, execution, capital punishment, Eighth Amendment, cruel and unusual

Abstract

This Article provides the Eighth Amendment analysis of electrocution that the courts thus far have not approached. The analysis has two parts. The first inquires whether, according to available scientific evidence, electrocution amounts to cruel and unusual punishment even if it is administered as planned. The second inquires whether, in light of the frequency with which electrocutions are botched, continuing the practice amounts to cruel and unusual punishment even if the properly administered electrocution would not.

Recommended Citation

Deborah W. Denno, Is Electrocution an Unconstitutional Method of Execution? The Engineering of Death Over the Century, 35 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 551 (1994)
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/faculty_scholarship/124