William Kemmler, who was convicted of murdering his common-law wife in Buffalo, didn't want to die in the electric chair, a new invention that had never been tried on a human before. He appealed his death sentence on the basis that it was cruel and unusual punishment, but in May, 1890 the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his challenge. “Punishments are cruel when they involve torture or a lingering death,” the court wrote. But when, 130 years ago today, they pulled the switch on Kemmler in the basement... Читать дальше...