A form of execution that is still used in a few of the states is electrocution. First introduced in the 1890’s, electrocution was a common form of execution in the United States. Nowadays, it isn’t used as much and has been outlawed in several states.
How does electrocution work you ask? The chair is plugged in to an electrical outlet connected to a head piece. The head piece contains a natural sponge that is soaked in salt water beforehand to carry an electrical current. There is usually a mask that covers the inmate’s face to prevent their eyeballs from popping out completely during the execution. I’m not joking. The reason they do this is so it does not disturb the execution witnesses.
On May 4, 1990, Jesse Tafero’s final day on Earth had come. The method chosen to kill him was electrocution, which Florida still uses. Tafero was arrested for shooting and killing two victims, one was a police officer and the other a constable from Canada. How this happened was Tafero, his wife, his two children, and a male friend named Walter Rhodes were all sleeping in their car pulled off on the side of the road. The two officers approached the vehicle and noticed a firearm laying in the vehicle. The police officers ordered Tafero and Rhodes out of the car and Rhodes continued to shoot the officers and then he forced Tafero and his family to flee the scene in the car. Rhodes was the only person who tested positively for gunshot residue after the fact.
To get a lesser sentence, Rhodes ended up saying both him and Tafero were responsible for the murders. But, even though Tafero technically didn’t kill the officers, he was still charged with 2nd-degree murder. Tafero and his wife were ultimately served the death penalty. Rhodes who was the one that actually shot and killed the officers later got out of prison due to good behavior. Makes a whole lot of sense.
Moving forward to the execution. Tafero’s execution is highly controversial and is blamed on “human error.” Which could very possibly be true, although it was a questionable mistake. As mentioned earlier, the process of electrocution is performed by a natural sponge being soaked in salt water and is attached to a headpiece that is plugged into an electrical outlet used to conduct electricity throughout the human body in order to kill inmates. In Tafero’s case there wasn’t a sponge readily available, so they had someone run to the store to get one. The person that purchased the sponge got a synthetic sponge.
The result of using a synthetic sponge when it comes to electrocution is brutal. When they performed Tafero’s execution they used a plastic sponge instead of a natural sponge like they were supposed to. Six inch long flames started to arise from his head, smoke was also coming out of his head, and the state decided to start and stop the current three times. It was reported by observers that Tafero was still breathing and moving after the first current stopped. It took three jolts of electricity to kill him, resulting in him dying in about 13 ½ minutes. Onlookers said that it looked painful and could possibly have violated the eighth amendment.
It must also be noted that Rhodes later recanted his statement and admitted that he was fully responsible for the murders of the two policemen and that he had pulled the trigger. This ended up with Tafero’s wife’s sentence being commuted, but Tafero himself wasn’t so lucky. Not only was this man wrongfully convicted, but he died in a cruel and unusual way. Some say that sparks, smoke, and fire arising from the head during electrocution is normal. If this is, how does it not count for cruel and unusual punishment? Everyone has their different ideas on what cruel and unusual punishment is, but this seems outright barbaric. Especially since he was obviously in pain and didn’t die for 13 ½ minutes while his head was on fire. As a country, we are so ready to kill no matter what the costs. We need to care less about getting a conviction as quickly as possible and more about catching the right person that committed the crime. The United States has definitely executed innocent people such as Tafero, but we may never know how many. The only way we can stop innocent people from being executed is abolishing the death penalty all together. Because no matter what way we perform that death penalty, there will be mistakes involved and innocent lives will be taken.
