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his head back none too gently, I saw Washington's teeth clench. His lips were moving, whether in the act of prayer, or in some non-voluntary reflex. One of the attendants kept asking him to "sing-dong't you want to sing, Charlie?" Washington only nodded his head."
"I do not suppose that sixty seconds were consumed between the time we entered the chamber and the completion of the strapping-in task. The the little harness-arrangement was adjusted to his head, with a buckled strap passing around his forehead and holding his head firmly to the head-rest. Then they strapped the other electrode to the calf of his left leg, removing the trousers to above the knee. His shirt they unbuttoned and folded back so as to disclose the left breast. The hurculean chest development of the man became even more striking. The black handkerchief was placed over his face and the attendants drew back as though fearful of the work they had done."
"A little window furnished a means for cummunicating the signal that all was in readiness with the dynamo room to the rear. A man raised a paddle with 'ready' on one side and 'switch' on the other. He waved the paddel before the little window, and with a whine and a groad the dynamo began to spin."
"Just before the signal had been given, I heard someone in the rear of the room say "look at his hands.'"
"Iwas the fingers draw up confulsively as the full force of the current hit the man, His massive chest flexed outward, and strained against the belts holding him down. The only other movement that I could see was the reflexive jerking of the man's legs. By some mischance, the feet had come in contact, and one could see the blue flames arising from the spot of contact. Washington wore the heavy cotton socks of the prison regulations, and the odor of the burning flesh and cloth formed an intolerable stench. The man nearest him waved the air with handkerchiefs - some placed their handkerchiefs or hands
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over their noses. I tried the same, but found that I couldn't get enough air, and so decided to breathe what I might, regardless of the stench of Washington's body being roasted."
"After a periods the current was turned off. Doctors approach with stethoscopes. Some one pried apart his feet so that the short circuit would not recur. There was a lively discussion as to whether his heartbeats were still audible. One man straightened Washington's fingers and pushed his nail into the numb of his thumb to see if curculation was still active. The he withdrew; the paddle waved again before the little window, and the dynamo began again to rock the building."
"This time the bodily reaction was much less pronounced; but there was another shot-circuit at the feet and again the sickening cloud with what was, to be at least, the most overpowering sensation of odor ever experienced. Behind me the crowd, no longer laughing, hurried rapidly to a wondow on one side, the door on the other. The big Birmingham detective crumpled a handkerchief to his nose, and then, as I glimpsed a surprised look on his face, crumpled to the door in a swoon."
"The rest was a quick-moving nightmare. From the door, where I had retreated for air, I saw the physicians go through the nominal application of aa stethoscope to the huge breast; and one arm raised in token that the man was dead. An attendant unstrapped the electrodes, and the great body slumped in the chair. From the hallway four other attendants brought a long wicker basket, and soon Charlie Washington was on his way to his eternal rest."
Charlie Washington has been dead for more than half a century.
His death served no purpose when it occured, and the deaths of other Charlie Washington's and Johnnie Birchettes will serve no purpose now.
