Old Smokey
Encyclopedia
Old Smokey is a euphemistic name given to the state prison electric chair
in New Jersey
, which is currently on exhibition at the Newseum
in Washington, DC as part of an exhibition detailing great cases of the FBI. It had previously been on display at the New Jersey State Police Museum. The chair's most infamous client was Bruno Hauptmann
, the man executed in the chair after being found guilty of abducting and killing Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. in 1932, the 20-month-old son of famous aviators Charles Lindbergh
and Anne Morrow Lindbergh
(see Lindbergh kidnapping
). It was also the name given to Pennsylvania
's electric chair.
, the chair was used in the electrocution
of 159 men between 1907 and 1963. In Pennsylvania
, the chair was used in the electrocution of 348 men and two women between 1915 and 1962.
New Jersey abolished capital punishment in 2007. Pennsylvania abolished electrocution in favor of lethal injection
in 1990.
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, which is currently on exhibition at the Newseum
Newseum
The Newseum is an interactive museum of news and journalism located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. The seven-level, museum features 15 theaters and 14 galleries. The Newseum's Berlin Wall Gallery includes the largest display of sections of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany...
in Washington, DC as part of an exhibition detailing great cases of the FBI. It had previously been on display at the New Jersey State Police Museum. The chair's most infamous client was Bruno Hauptmann
Bruno Hauptmann
Bruno Richard Hauptmann was a German ex-convict sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of the 20-month-old son of Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The Lindbergh kidnapping became known as "The Crime of the Century".-Background:Hauptmann was born in Kamenz in the German Empire,...
, the man executed in the chair after being found guilty of abducting and killing Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. in 1932, the 20-month-old son of famous aviators Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
and Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an American author, aviator, and the spouse of fellow aviator Charles Lindbergh.She was an acclaimed author whose books and articles spanned the genres of poetry to non-fiction, touching upon topics as diverse as youth and age; love and marriage; peace, solitude and...
(see Lindbergh kidnapping
Lindbergh kidnapping
The kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was the abduction of the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The toddler, 18 months old at the time, was abducted from his family home in East Amwell, New Jersey, near the town of Hopewell, New Jersey, on the evening of...
). It was also the name given to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
's electric chair.
Executions
In New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, the chair was used in the electrocution
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
of 159 men between 1907 and 1963. In Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the chair was used in the electrocution of 348 men and two women between 1915 and 1962.
New Jersey abolished capital punishment in 2007. Pennsylvania abolished electrocution in favor of lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
in 1990.