orking electric chair, "Whereas Brown's electric chair had been a reclining model, the one that Dr. Fell designed was a simple oak chair with a ladder back, wide arms, and a footrest that could be extended or stowed under the seat. Newspapers reported that it looked like "an ordinary barber's chair." "There is nothing uncomfortable about the chair save the deadly current which goes with it," the Herald observed." The inmate is strapped into the chair with belts across his or her chest, legs, arms, and groin. A skullcap-shaped electrode is placed onto the prisoner's head and forehead over a saline soaked sponge. This sponge cannot be too wet because the saline will short circuit the electric current. It cannot be too dry be because it will have a high resistance. Another electrode is moistened with a conductive jelly called Electro-Crème and it is attached to the prisoner's leg where it had already been shaved, also to reduce resistance. Then the prisoner is blindfolded. The execution team leaves the room and goes into the observation room. The warden signals the executioner to pull the handle that connects the power supply. A 30 second jolt between 500 and 2,000 volts is given. After the 30 seconds, the current
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