Yellow Mama
Encyclopedia
Yellow Mama is the euphemistic nickname given to Alabama
's electric chair
.
First installed at Kilby State Prison in Montgomery, Alabama
, Yellow Mama acquired its yellow color when painted using highway-line paint from the adjacent State Highway Department lab. The chair was built by a British
inmate in 1927 and was first used to execute Horace DeVauhan
that same year. (Previous executions in Alabama had been by hanging.)
Yellow Mama is now stored in an attic above the newly reconstructed execution chamber
at the Holman Correctional Facility
in Atmore, Alabama
. The last execution to occur using it was that of Lynda Lyon Block
on May 10, 2002. Following her execution, a bill was passed that would allow for execution by either lethal injection
or electrocution.
's song.
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
's electric chair
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...
.
First installed at Kilby State Prison in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, Yellow Mama acquired its yellow color when painted using highway-line paint from the adjacent State Highway Department lab. The chair was built by a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
inmate in 1927 and was first used to execute Horace DeVauhan
Horace DeVauhan
Horace DeVaughan , of Birmingham, Alabama, was the first prison inmate in Alabama to be executed by the Alabama electric chair, nicknamed "Yellow Mama" because it was painted with bright yellow highway paint. DeVaughan was electrocuted on April 8, 1927.-References:*Montgomery Advertiser, October 7,...
that same year. (Previous executions in Alabama had been by hanging.)
Yellow Mama is now stored in an attic above the newly reconstructed execution chamber
Execution chamber
An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which a legal execution is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death row population is housed...
at the Holman Correctional Facility
Holman Correctional Facility
Holman Correctional Facility is an Alabama Department of Corrections prison located in unincorporated southwestern Escambia County, Alabama. The facility is along Alabama State Highway 21, north of Atmore....
in Atmore, Alabama
Atmore, Alabama
Atmore is a city in Escambia County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 7,676. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 7,530. The city was named for Mr. C.P. Atmore....
. The last execution to occur using it was that of Lynda Lyon Block
Lynda Lyon Block
Lynda Cheryl Lyon Block was an American convicted murderess....
on May 10, 2002. Following her execution, a bill was passed that would allow for execution by either 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...
or electrocution.
Cultural references
Yellow Mama is a title and theme of Dale WatsonDale Watson (singer)
Dale Watson is an American alternative country/Texas Country singer, guitarist and songwriter based in Austin, Texas. He's positioned himself as a tattooed, stubbornly independent outsider who is interested in recording authentic country music...
's song.