A Report of the Gross and 
Microscopical Examinations 
in Six Cases of Death by 
Strong Electrical 
Currents. 
BY 
IE A VAN GIESON, M. D., 
NEW TOEK. 
REPRINTED FROM THE 
■Bfeto Yorft JWelsical journal 
for May 7 and Uh 1892. DR. MacDONALD’S ARTICLE ON 
THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 
Fig. 3. 
THE NEWYORK MEDICAL JOURNAL, MAY 14, 1892. 
Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows the construction of the “death chair,” the method of applying the current through 
the hands in the case of McElvaine, and the attitude of the subject before receiving the contact. 
Figs. 2, 3, and 4 show the character and distribution of the petechial spots in the floor of the 
fourth ventricle in the case of Schichiok Jugigo. 
Fig. 4. 
Fig. 2. With the compliments of 
Dr. IRA VAN GIESON, 
437 West 39TH Street, 
New York City. A REPORT OF THE 
GROSS AND MICROSCOPICAL 
EXAMINATIONS 
IN SIX CASES OF 
DEATH BY STRONG ELECTRICAL 
CURRENTS 
BY 
IRA YAN GrIESON, M. D. 
NEW YORK 
REPRINTED FROM 
THE NEW YORK MEDICAL JOURNAL 
TOR MAT 7 AND Uh 1892 
YEW YORK 
D. APPLETOY AYD OOMPAYY 
1892 Copyright, 1892, 
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. A REPORT OF THE GROSS AND MICROSCOPI- 
CAL EXAMINATIONS IN SIX CASES OF DEATH 
BY STRONG ELECTRICAL CURRENTS. 
This official report prepared by the writer is excerpted, 
by the courteous permission of Dr. Carlos F. Mac Donald, 
from his paper * on The Infliction of the Death Penalty 
.by Means of Electricity, wherein are described the methods 
of application and effects of the current in the judicial ad- 
ministration of death under the new law in the State of 
New York, designed to supersede and ameliorate death by 
hanging. 
The increasing death roll attending the progressive use 
of electricity in the modern arts and industries gives the 
investigation of the changes, if any, in this form of death 
some importance and scientific interest. It would also seem 
of considerable practical value to record a number of care- 
fully made autopsies with microscopical examinations for 
reference in cases where it might be of medico-legal inter- 
est to distinguish death from the current from other forms 
of death. 
Thus, as a contribution to general pathological anatomy,, 
and of possible interest in legal medicine, the examinations 
of the organs and tissues have been extracted as a separate 
reprint bearing upon this comparatively new and increas- 
ingly frequent form of death inflicted by the currents of 
modern electrical appliances. 
* The Infliction of the Death Penalty by Means of Electricity. Be- 
ing a Report of Seven Cases. With Remarks on the Methods of Appli- 
cation and the Gross and Microscopical Effects of Electrical Currents of 
Lethal Energy on the Human Subject. By Carlos F. Mac Donald. New- 
York Medical Journal, May 14, 1892. GROSS AND MICROSCOPICAL EXAMINATIONS 
4 
This report comprises the examinations made on the 
bodies of the six criminals successively executed by the cur- 
rent at Sing Sing Prison in 1891 and 1892, following the 
first application of the new law in the case of William 
Kemmler, at Auburn Prison, in August, 1890. These six 
criminals were Schichiok Jugigo (a Japanese), Harris 
Smiler, James Slocum, and Joseph Wood (a negro), all exe- 
cuted July 7, 1891; Martin Loppy, December 7, 1891 ; 
and Charles McElvaine, February 8, 1892. The details of 
the application of the current and its physiological effects 
are to be found in Dr. MacDonald’s paper. 
It need only be stated here that the current varied in 
strength from 1,458 to 1,716 volts, while the ammeter 
registered a variation of 2to 7 amperes. The subjects sat 
in a heavy chair (Fig. 1), where they were restrained by 
soft firm leather straps about the head, arms, chest, and 
feet. The current was passed in all of the subjects except 
one (McElvaine) from the forehead to the flexure of the 
right knee by broad rectangulat electrodes (about three by 
four to four inches and a half in diameter) faced with a 
sponge moistened in saline solution. The current was ap- 
plied for a number of seconds, then broken for a few sec- 
onds, during which interval the sponges were irrigated to 
prevent the generation of an undue amount of heat, and 
then the current was reapplied one or more times. The 
record of the duration of the contacts is as follows : Jugi- 
go, three contacts of fifteen seconds each ; Smiler, four con- 
tacts, three of ten seconds each, and the fourth of nineteen 
seconds; Slocum, two contacts, twenty-seven and twenty- 
six seconds ; Wood, three contacts of twenty seconds each ; 
Loppy, four contacts of fifteen, eleven, fifteen and a half, 
and ten and a half seconds, respectively. 
In the case of McElvaine the first contact was applied 
through the hands, which were immersed in small pails 
(Fig. 1) of saline solution, so that the electrodes were liquid, 
and a second current was passed almost immediately after- 
ward from head to foot, as in the other cases. The first 
contact lasted fifty seconds, and the second thirty-six 
seconds. 
The contact of the current on the body instantly pro- 
duced a genei’al rigidity of all the voluntary muscles. IX SIX CASES OF DEATH BY ELECTRICITY. 
5 
This contraction of the voluntary muscles was exceedingly 
powerful and intense ; each individual muscle liber seemed 
to be in an exalted state of tonic spasm. This condition of 
the muscles lasted until the current was broken, and then 
the muscles became limp and flaccid; the alternating con- 
traction and relaxation of the muscles occurred simultane- 
ously with each renewed making and breaking of the 
current. 
As a rule, during the contacts enough heat was gen- 
erated in the electrodes to raise the temperature of the 
saline solution, so that the skin beneath was slightly dam- 
aged, and the blisters described at length in the autopsies 
were produced in this way. 
Gross Examinations. 
The autopsies in the first four cases were held four, fiveT 
six, and six hours and a half after death, in the order of the 
subjects classed below. The two remaining autopsies, of 
Loppy and McElvaine, were held very soon after death— 
ten or fifteen minutes, or even less time.* 
Schichiok Jugigo.—The post-mortem examination in this case 
was held four hours after death. The pupils were alike and 
moderately contracted. The body was well nourished and un- 
usually well developed. The anterior epithelial cells of the 
cornea had desquamated from the central portion by the action 
of heat. There was a bulging forward of the sclera of the left 
eye at the left sclero-corneal junction. Conjunctiva amende. 
The scalp and skin covering the neck had a dull, purplish hue. 
The skin of the anterior surface of the body was not discolored 
or eechymosed. At the flexure of both elbows were a number 
of symmetrical linear ecchymoses, which were more mai'ked on 
the right side. Also a curved, narrow ecchyrnotic line just be- 
low the outside of the right nipple. These probably were 
caused by the straps. At the posterior surface of the right 
knee-joint, and on the posterior and inner and upper surface of 
the calf, the epidermis was raised, wrinkled, and folded. At 
the flexure of the knee joint the epidermis had been torn away 
to the extent of about an inch in diameter. The right lower 
extremity was flexed and bent more to the median line than 
its fellow. There is a slight discharge of thin, milky fluid 
* In the fifth autopsy I desire to acknowledge the co-operation of 
my colleague Dr. Hodenpyl. 6 
GROSS AND MICROSCOPICAL EXAMINATIONS 
from the urethra and some still remaining in the canal. A 
sample of this fluid was taken for microscopical examination. 
Post-mortem rigidity well marked except in the arms, where it 
was only slight. The whole posterior surface of neck, trunk, 
arms, and lower extremities was of a dull, purplish hue. There 
were a few slight blisters on both temples, and both cheeks and 
eyelids. There were raised whitish streaks on both sides of the 
neck, just below the angle of the jaw. 
The trunk was opened by a straight incision from the top of 
the sternum to the pubes. The fat was an inch thick over the 
abdomen. Muscles red and firm. Diaphragm at left side was 
found at the level of the sixth intercostal space, and on the 
right side at the fifth intercostal space. Portions of small in- 
testine were taken for microscopical examination. 
Examination of heart: Auricles and ventricles flaccid and in 
diastole and filled with fluid blood. The larger vessels were 
tied and the heart removed. The left ventricle was well filled 
with fluid blood but no clots. The auricles were the same. 
The blood was of the same color in the left ventricle as in the 
right, Yalves normal. On opening the vessels, a large quan- 
tity of dark-colored liquid blood escaped, half filling the pleural 
cavity. There were no pleural adhesions. Lungs perfectly 
healthy, but slightly congested. 
The spleen was found to be of normal size, the capsule 
smooth, pulp firm, and uniformly filled with blood, and the ar- 
rangement of the Malpighian bodies and splenic connective tis- 
sue entirely normal. 
The pancreas was perfectly normal and a portion removed 
for microscopical examination. 
Liver entirely normal, and a portion was also removed for 
microscopical examination. 
Left kidney: The capsule was non-adherent. It was rather 
large and the cortex of normal thickness. The kidney was 
uniformly injected and the markings in the cortex were normal 
as to number and arrangement. The right kidney was in the 
same condition. 
The gall-bladder was filled with bile. 
The stomach was empty, the mucous membrane pale; the 
rugae were well marked and perfectly healthy. 
The intestines were healthy. The small intestines were filled 
with semi-fluid faeces. The large intestines showed the same 
condition. 
The urinary bladder was normal and half full. 
Examination of brain; The brain was exposed by a straight 
incision of scalp over the vertex from ear to ear, and saw cuts 
through the skull at a slight angle and at the level of the eye- IN SIX CASES OF DEATH BY ELECTRICITY. 
7 
brows. The scalp showed several old scars, and was slightly 
less adherent under those portions where the electrode was at- 
tached. The skull was symmetrical. The dura mater was 
normal and the vessels moderately dilated. The longitudinal 
sinus was found to be normal and contained some fluid blood 
The brain was removed in the usual way. The pia mater was 
uniformly thin and transparent; the vessels in a medium state 
of congestion; subpial fluid small in amount. The blood was 
everywhere fluid in the meshes of the pia mater. There was 
no apparent difference in that portion which the electrode 
covered. The vessels at the base were perfectly normal. The 
ventricles contained a small amount of clear fluid. The roof 
and floor of the lateral ventricles were normal. The ependy- 
ma was smooth and transparent. White substance firm. 
Gray matter normal in every respect. Floor of the fourth 
ventricle at the upper half contained some dilated vessels, and 
on the left side there were a number of minute, radiating pe- 
techial spots from one to two millimetres in diameter. (See 
Fig. 1.) 
The spinal cord was exposed in the usual manner. The ex- 
ternal appearance of both cord and membranes was entirely 
normal, and the vessels containing, if anything, even less blood 
than usual, due, probably, to the short time that had elapsed be- 
tween the occurrence of death and the holding of the autopsy. 
Sections half an inch apart showed nothing abnormal. A por- 
tion of both sciatic nerves was taken for microscopical exami- 
nation. 
Owing to the great length of time necessary to make this 
autopsy as completely and minutely as was done, and the sub- 
sequent careful microscopical examinations, it was not consid- 
ered necessary to examine the brain and spinal cord in the 
other cases, especially as nothing of any importance had been 
observed in these organs in this case. 
Harris A. Smiler.—Posterior surface of the body was of the 
same color, and also showed the same blisters as in the case of 
Jugigo. The left leg showed the same state of contraction. 
The body was opened by the long, straight incision, as in the 
case of Jugigo. The diaphragm was found at the left side at 
the sixth intercostal space and on the right side at the fifth 
intercostal space. The left lung was slightly adherent at the 
apex. The heart was rather small. The left ventricle was 
somewhat firmer than the right, which latter was a little flabby. 
The auricles were distended with fluid blood. The right ventri- 
cle was empty and collapsed.. The apex of the left lung was 
small and shrunken and retracted, and contained a few small, 
scattered, dense, tubercular nodules, some of which were calci- 8 
GROSS AND MICROSCOPICAL EXAMINATIONS 
fied. Otherwise the lung was normal and resembled the pre- 
ceding case. Right lung shows the same set of changes, but not 
so marked. Small ecchymotic spots (Tardieu’s spots) wrere ob- 
served under the pericardium on surface of left ventricle. The 
walls of the ventricles were of normal thickness. There were 
signs of an old endocarditis below the aortic valves. All the 
valves were healthy. 
The spleen was small and the pulp soft and normal. 
The pancreas was normal. 
The liver was normal both in size and texture. 
The left kidney was greatly hypertrophied and the capsule 
non-adherent. The cortex was somewhat thickened and the 
markings distinct and regular; moderately congested. The 
right kidney was small, two and a half by three quarters of an 
inch in size, and weighed forty-eight grammes—less than an ounce 
and three quarters. The tissue was normal, but the kidney was 
apparently congenitally small. 
Intestines.—Descending colon was filled with gas; ascend- 
ing colon and small intestine pallid and contained semi-fluid ma- 
terial. 
Stomach contained undigested food, potatoes, etc. Mucous 
membrane pale and coated with a thin layer of slimy mucus. 
Bladder distended with urine. Walls and mucous membrane 
normal. 
Examination of brain and cord deemed unnecessary. The 
blood was fluid everywhere and darker than normal. 
Body presented same appearance as in preceding cases. 
There was the same contraction of the legs and the same gen- 
eral appearance as in the others. Same condition of epithelium 
of cornea. 
Joseph Wood.—Autopsy held at 1.25 p. m. 
Median incision made as in other cases. Diaphragm attached 
to fifth intercostal space on both sides. There were half a dozen 
scattered petechial points found under the pericardium, half a 
millimetre in diameter. On the anterior surface of both ven- 
tricles and on the posterior surface of the left ventricle were five 
scattered similar points. On the posterior surface of the right 
ventricle were three similar small points and one larger, three 
millimetres and a half in diameter. 
Heart normal in size and condition of ventricles the same as 
in the case of Smiler. Both lungs were free from adhesions. 
The right lung, bronchi, pulmonary vessels, and lung tissue were 
normal, but somewhat more pigmented than usual. The sub- 
stance of the lung was dry and dark pink in color. Heart mus- 
cles pale and firm and of normal thickness. All the valves were 
normal. IN SIX CASES OF DEATH BY ELECTRICITY. 
9 
Spleen was normal in size and dark red in color, and showed 
two thickened white patches on capsule. The pulp was firm. 
The pancreas was normal. 
The liver was normal in every respect. 
Both kidneys normal in every respect. 
Nothing abnormal was found in the intestines. 
The gall-bladder was distended with normal bile. 
The urinary bladder was of normal thickness, but the mucous 
membrane was considerably congested. 
The brain and cord were not examined. 
James J. Slocum.—Autopsy held at 1.45 p. m. There were 
the same blisters and external appearances as in the others. 
There was also the same appearance of cornea. Median incision 
was made as in the other cases. 
Heart.—Petechial spots scattered about as in the other cases, 
and were also observed under the pulmonary pleura. The left 
ventricle was firmly contracted, while the light was flabby. 
Both auricles, especially the right one, were filled with fluid 
blood. The left lung was free from adhesions. The upper lobe 
of right lung was slightly adherent. The left lung was in the 
same condition as the others, hut slightly oedematous. The right 
lung was in the same condition. There was a well-marked large 
group of petechial spots at the center of anterior surface of left 
ventricle. 
The spleen was of normal size, with the pulp soft, of dark- 
red color and somewhat congested. 
Pancreas was normal both on the surface and on section. 
The gall-bladder was half full of bile and the common duct 
patulous. 
The liver was normal in every respect. 
The left kidney was very much congested, but normal in all 
other respects. 
The right kidney was in a similar condition. 
A careful examination of the intestines showed nothing ab- 
normal. 
The bladder was collapsed and normal. 
The trachea was normal. 
Martin D. Loppy.—Autopsy held as soon as practicable after 
breaking of the last current. Subject somewhat below the 
medium stature. Body well nourished. Muscular system well 
developed. Rigor mortis almost completely, if not entirely, ab- 
sent, except in the right leg, where there is sufficient muscular 
rigidity to hold the leg slightly adducted and flexed at the knee 
joint. The mouth and nostrils are perfectly natural, and show 
no traces of the extrusion of fluids or frothy material. About 10 
GROSS AND MICROSCOPICAL EXAMINATIONS 
a drachm of viscid fluid, wetting the skin of the pubic region, 
has escaped from the urethra. 
There are no discolorations, contusions, or other marks on 
the skin, except in two places—viz., (1) at the flexure of the 
right knee, where the lower electrode was applied, and (2) upon 
the cheeks, corresponding to the position of one of the restrain- 
ing straps. The unexposed surfaces of the skin are everywhere 
else smooth, white, rather thin, and delicate in structure, and 
show no settling of blood in the dependent portions of the 
body. 
At the flexure (or back part of the knee joint), where the 
lower electrode was applied, there is a diffuse reddish discolora- 
tion of the skin about three inches and a half by five inches in 
diameter. This region of the skin shows a very moderate, su- 
perficial, irregular separation of the thin outer scarf skin or 
epidermis from the true and thicker skin beneath. The epi- 
dermis or scarf skin in this region is raised up and corrugated, 
and it can be easily rubbed off with slight force, When the 
whole thickness of the skin is cut through with a knife, it can 
be seen that this change is quite superficial, affecting the outer 
scarf skin only, and does not damage the oorium or true skin 
beneath to any appreciable extent. 
The corium or true thicker skin underlying the electrode re- 
gion is soft, pliable, not desiccated, and seems to be normal in 
every way, except that it is somewhat congested, which pro- 
duces the reddish discoloration in this region. 
The layer of fat beneath the skin in the electrode region is 
in no way changed or damaged. 
The head electrode has left no traces upon the skin. The 
forehead and scalp beneath the electrode are perfectly white and 
natural, and there are absolutely none of the superficial altera- 
tions referred to above at the knee joint. 
There is redness and swelling of both cheeks just beneath 
the eyes, which is very moderate in extent and not enough to 
make any distortion of the face. This was occasioned by press- 
ure against one of the leather restraining straps during the pe- 
riods of muscular activity when the current was applied. 
The right eye had been lost some time previously during life. 
The eyelids are closed; skin of eyelids intact. Anterior cor- 
neal epithelium of the left eye cloudy, but not detached. The 
eyeball is perfectly natural; it has the proper tension and con- 
tour. 
The interior of the mouth is normal. The tongue and the 
teeth show no signs whatsoever of injury. 
The body was opened in the usual way. The abdominal 
organs were critically examined first, then the thoracic vis- IN SIX CASES OF DEATH BY ELECTRICITY. 
11 
cera. and finally the brain and upper portion of the spinal 
cord. 
The stomach is normal; it is much contracted, rather small; 
mucosa pallid ; fundus smooth; pyloric extremity folded. 
The small intestine is normal, contracted, upper portion 
nearly empty, lower portion partially filled with semi-fluid fasoal 
matter. 
The spleen contains, just beneath the normal capsule, several 
larger and smaller hasmorrhagic spots, from one millimetre to 
three millimetres in diameter, such as are not infrequently found 
after death from a variety of causes. The substance of the spleen 
is normal. 
The pancreas is normal in size and texture. 
The liver is normal in size, and uniformly filled with blood; 
cut surface smooth, stroma and parenchyma unchanged. Gall- 
bladder normal; partially filled with bile. 
The Tcidaey.s are of medium size; capsules non-adherent; 
vessels well filled; the cortex is normal in thickness, and has its 
constituent elements properly arranged. 
The urinary bladder shows no abnormities; it is much con- 
tracted and its mucosa pallid. 
The suprarenal capsules are unchanged. 
Heart.—The left ventricle is firmly contracted and empty ; 
both auricles and the left ventricle are flaccid. The right ven- 
tricle contains a little fluid blood. Two small thickened patches 
of old endocarditis are at the base of the aortic valve. The 
heart muscle is firm and normal. 
The diaphragm stands at the level of the sixth intercos- 
tal space on the left side, and at the sixth rib on the right 
side. 
The lungs are non-adherent, pale, normal in size, texture, 
and consistence. 
The trachea, oesophagus, and aorta are normal 
Brain and Spinal Cord.—The brain was removed in the or- 
dinarily practiced method, and the scalp, pericranium, and skull 
show no effects of the head electrode. Skull brachycephalic. 
Dura mater of convexity normal. Longitudinal sinus normal; 
contains a little fluid blood. Pia mater not thickened, but con- 
tains a number of nebulous striae and opacities uniformly scat- 
tered over the whole convexity. There was considerable sub- 
pial fluid. Both this change in the pia mater and the increased 
subpial fluid are referable to some pre-existing condition, and 
are such as are not infrequently found in persons having the 
age and intemperate habits of this subject. 
The vocal cords are in cadaveric position. 
Convolutions of the brain have the normal topographical 12 
GROSS AND MICROSCOPICAL EXAMINATIONS 
distribution; substance of brain normal, both as to the condi- 
tions of the blood-vessels and the character of both the gray 
and white matter. Vessels at base normal. Lateral ventricles 
contain a slight amount of clear fluid. Ependyma of all ventri- 
cles unchanged. Floor of fourth ventricle normal. 
The right optic nerve—corresponding to the lost eye—is 
atrophied, having about half of its ordinary thickness. The 
medulla, pons, and basal ganglia show no abnormities. (These 
were referred to Dr. Brill for microscopical examination.) 
There is an old healed fracture extending across the right 
orbital process of the frontal bone, one centimetre from the 
median line, which extends backward and outward nearly to 
the apex of the petrous portion of the temporal bone for a dis- 
tance of about five centimetres. The dura mater along the track 
of this old fracture is slightly thickened (to the extent of three 
millimetres) and adherent to the bone. 
The superior portion of the spinal cord shows no changes in 
its coverings, vessels, or substance. 
The muscles were critically examined to determine if there 
were any signs of violence induced by the current or the con- 
traction it caused, and with a negative result. The muscles of 
the chest, abdomen, and calf were normal, bright red, firm, and 
show not the slightest tearing or rupture. 
Charles McElvaine.—Approximately two to three minutes 
after the breaking of the last current the reflex action of the 
voluntary muscles was tested as follows: 
1. The patellar reflex was tried in the usual way without any 
response from the muscles either in the knee of the electrode 
side, which was rigid, or the knee of the other side, which was 
relaxed. 
2. The cornea was touched with the finger without eliciting 
any exertion from the muscles of the eyelids. 
3. The nipples were pinched with a forceps, and the sur- 
rounding skin was scratched and lightly scarified with fine scis- 
sors ; but this did not induce any motion of the muscle groups, 
or even any fine fibrillary twitching of the individual fibers of 
the subjacent muscles. 
4. One of the muscles of the abdomen (the rectus) was ex- 
posed, but showed no activity when cut or irritated with the 
knife. Voluntary muscle reflexes to ordinary stimuli were ab- 
sent. The activity of smooth or involuntary muscle was not 
interfered with; thus peristalsis of the intestines and the cre- 
masteric reflex could be excited. 
After these tests the autopsy was made immediately. 
I. External Appearances of the Body.—The subject is a trifle 
below the medium stature, well nourished, has no deformities. IN SIX CASES OF DEATH BY ELECTRICITY. 
13 
and bas well-developed muscular system. The lips are pallid, 
but the nostrils and interior of the mouth are perfectly natural. 
The left eyelid is quite firmly closed, while the other lid is 
partly open. The delicate membrane coating the front of the 
cornea has not been disturbed by the head electrode. The 
pupils are about midway open, nearly uniform, and measure 
about two millimetres and a half in diameter. The eyeballs 
are natural. There is no distortion of the face, such as 
muscular contractions or marks of violence, to mar the counte- 
nance. 
Rigor mortis is marked only where the current was applied ; 
the electrode leg is flexed at the knee joint at an angle of about 
90°, and is a trifle adducted. The arras, which received the first 
contact, are less flexed than the knee joint, and the fingers are 
almost completely closed in the palm of the hand. 
There are no evidences of a seminal emission. 
The skin is everywhere perfectly natural, except at the 
points of application of the electrodes, and here there are some 
superficial changes in the outer layers of the skin. In these 
places, at the hack part of the right knee joint and on the upper 
surface of the wrists (where the first contact was made), the 
thin outer scarf skin is wrinkled and raised up or partially de- 
tached from the true or deeper skin beneath. 
These superficial patches on the skin in the electrode regions 
are not extensive and do not measure more than two to two 
inches and a half in diameter. In order to see if these patches 
involved the skin beyond the outer layers, the whole skin was cut 
through with the knife and looked at critically. It was then 
seen that the deeper layers of the skin were but very little in- 
volved. The deeper or true skin is in places in these patches 
a little drier than it ought to be, and this is all. The layer of fat 
beneath the slightly superficially damaged patches on the skin is 
perfectly normal in every way. 
11. Examination of the Thoracic and Abdominal Organs. 
—There is very little to be said about the examination of these 
organs other than that they were subjected to a thoroughly- 
detailed systematic scrutiny, and nothing abnormal was found 
either about their shape, consistency, or texture, except the left 
ventricle of the heart was firmly contracted, while the right 
ventricle was flaccid. Yalves and heart muscle normal. 
The left kidney (measuring 6 x 13 centimetres in diameter) 
contained a number of larger and smaller cavities (the largest 
one centimetre and a half in diameter) near the region of the 
pelvis, some of which contain calculi. Such a condition of the 
kidney is due to an old chronic previous process, and is to be 
expected in persons who develop calculi in the kidney. : GROSS AND MICROSCOPICAL EXAMINATIONS 
14 
All of the viscera and organs of the thorax and abdomen 
were examined. 
111. The Central Nervous System.—The brain is brachyce- 
phalic and is perfectly normal as to its coverings, in the disposi- 
tion and structure of its blood-vessels, in the arrangement of 
the convolutions, fissures, and sulci, and in the texture and rela- 
tive distribution of the gray and white matter. The fourth 
ventricle and its floor are normal. The superior portion of the 
spinal cord is normal. (The brain was not completely dissected, 
in order that it might be transported to Professor Donaldson, of 
Clarke University.) The brain with the pia weighed, on scales 
weighing to half a gramme, 1,442 grammes. The dura mater 
weighed 52 grammes. 
IV. The Muscular System.—The muscles are red and firm 
and show no signs of tearing, rupture, or haemorrhage. 
Remarks.—ln looking carefully over the details of this au- 
topsy and comparing this report with that of the four previous 
cases of infliction of the death penalty by electricity, the fol- 
lowing points may he noted : 
1. The passage of an electrical current of the pressure em- 
ployed in these cases (of approximately from 1,400 to 1,700 
volts) and in this manner does not do any damage to any of the 
internal organs, tissues, or muscles. None of these parts are 
lacerated or changed in volume; neither are there any gross 
chemical or morphological changes or alteration of their finer 
structural features. 
2. The local thermic effects of the electrodes are limited to 
the outer scarf skin. The true skin beneath is not damaged to 
any appreciable extent. The epidermis or scarf skin may be 
separated from the deeper skin, and resembles in this way an 
ordinary blister from which the fluid has escaped. The blisters 
about the knee in this case are like the ordinary familiar water 
blisters on the hands from friction, or the blisters which physi- 
cians often have occasion to produce in their treatment of dis- 
ease. Where the skin has been exposed to the weather, and is 
tougher and more resistant, as on the forehead and scalp, the 
blistering does not take place, whereas in the more sensitive 
delicate skin of unexposed surfaces, as at the fold of the knee 
joint or the calf, the superficial blistering is more readily in- 
duced. Compared with the four previous executions, the 
changes in the skin induced by the local thermic action of the 
electrode are even still less in degree in this case, and may be 
pronounced altogether trivial. 
3. The occurrence and distribution of the minute hsemor- 
rhagic spots (described more completely in the previous cases) 
.are not a uniform or constant feature in these cases, and as they IN SIX OASES OF DEATH BY ELECTRICITY. 
15 
are found after death from the greatest variety of causes, they 
can not properly be regarded as positively characteristic of 
death by this method. 
4. The attitude of the body on the autopsy table is peculiar 
and very uniform. When the electrodes are applied at the knee 
flexure, the leg is invariably slightly hexed at the knee and a 
trifle adducted. 
5. The rapid abolition of reflex action of the voluntary 
muscles tends to show how superlatively complete and far- 
reaching the effects of the currents are in abolishing life, not 
only in the concrete form, but also in the integral activities of 
the body which in other forms of sudden and violent death is 
liable to persist for a time after life is extinct. From observa- 
tions at these executions, as well as at the subsequent examination 
of the bodies, the current appears at first not only to extinguish 
life in the ordinary sense of the word, so far as consciousness, 
feeling, and volition are concerned, with overwhelming sudden- 
ness, but reaches beyond this and destroys the energies of the 
individual component parts of the body so that they can not be 
raised into activity by artificial mechanical stimulation, as is usu- 
ally the case in sudden violent death. 
Microscopical Examination. 
The practical results of the microscopical examination are, 
that the passage of the electric current through the body is at- 
tended with no recognizable changes in its tissues or organs, ex- 
cepting the local thermic changes in the skin at the points of 
application of the electrodesand some minute petechial spots on 
several of the organs. 
Such a summary of the examination, however, seems insuffi- 
cient without adding that it was determined by most exhaustive 
and modern investigation, and as there are apparently no re- 
corded examinations of similar cases in medical literature, it 
seems not inappropriate to give the detailed report subjoined, 
showing in what way and to what extent the tissues were ex- 
amined. 
Specimens were taken from all four of the subjects, but the 
material from the Japanese criminal was especially selected for 
minute study, as it could be obtained the soonest after death. 
Notes about the technical preparation of tissues are added 
at the conclusion of the report. . 
The Examination of the Cells in General.—For this purpose 
the ciliated cells of the trachea, the liver cells, and the ganglion 
cells were studied especially with the oil-immersion lens. The 
physical properties of the protoplasm are in no way changed. 16 
GROSS AND MICROSCOPICAL EXAMINATIONS 
The arrangement of the protoplasm, its volume, consistency, its 
behavior with light and staining reagents, are not at all different 
from the ordinary cell body. The same may be said of the con- 
stituent elements of the nucleus. None of the cells in any of 
the tissues examined show any signs of mechanical violence, such 
as tearing, fracture, or disintegration of the protoplasm. Neither 
does there appear to be any chemical change in the nucleus or 
cell body, as far as can be determined with micro-chemical 
methods. (The cells thus studied were prepared with solutions 
of corrosive sublimate, and also osmic acid.) 
The Blood.—The blood cells are not damaged in any way by 
the current. The red cells have their normal size and shape. 
The white cells are uniformly spherical and have the usual ar- 
rangement of the nuclei. The blood was very perfectly pre- 
served, even the blood plaques being unchanged. 
The stomach, small intestine, and kidney are unchanged, 
with the exception of a slight amount of post-mortem degenera- 
tion in the parenchyma cells. The stomach shows the appear- 
ances of functional activity. 
The liver and pancreas and spleen show no changes. 
The Muscular System.—The smooth muscles, studied from 
the gastro-intestinal tracts and the heart muscle fibers, are un- 
changed. 
In sections of the eyelid lying directly beneath the electrode 
the voluntary muscle fibers are normal. 
The Mood-vessels are not altered. The lungs and genital 
organs were not examined microscopically. The fluid ejaculated 
from the urethra in the case of the Japanese criminal does not 
show spermatozoa. 
The central nervous system was examined with especial care. 
It has recently been determined that, during periods of muscular 
fatigue or prolonged muscular exertion, certain of the motor- 
ganglion cells are diminished in volume, which is recovered 
again during periods of muscular repose. Speaking roughly, 
this shrinkage of the ganglion cells during muscular fatigue 
represents a sort of mechanical equivalent of the work done by 
the muscles. Hodge {Am. Jour, of Psychology, May, 1888, 1889, 
and 1891), in inducing experimentally the effects of fatigue in 
ganglion cells by the prolonged action of weak electrical cur- 
rents, found that the ganglion cells suffered a vaouolation, 
shrinkage in the volume of the cell body, and a still greater 
reduction in the size of the nucleus. This diminution of the 
ganglion cell was tangible enough and could be measured, and 
in some cases in Hodge’s experiments with the current on cats 
the nucleus shrank to 48'9 per cent, of its original bulk. 
Although it could hardly be expected that there would he IN SIX CASES OF DEATH BY ELECTRICITY. 
time enough for the ganglion cells of these criminals to show 
traces of the intense muscular contractions, yet the ganglion 
cells of the central convolutions and the anterior spinal cornua 
were very carefully examined to see if there would be any 
shrinkage coincident with the expenditure of so great an amount 
of muscular energy as was manifested during the contacts. 
The ganglion cells in these regions, however, as far as can 
be determined by careful comparison with sections from the 
same regions in other ordinary healthy subjects, seem to he nor- 
mal in size, or at least do not show any striking reduction in 
volume. A slight shrinkage may he present, but it would be 
almost impossible to determine it from the lack of a normal 
standard to make measurements with. Concerning this sus- 
pected change in the ganglion cells, then, it may be said that if 
there is any shrinkage at all, it is of very limited extent. 
At the autopsy some minute petechial spots were found on 
the floor of the fourth ventricle (Fig. 1). Microscopically, 
these spots are small masses of extravasated red blood-cells, 
situated, for the most part, in the perivascular spaces just be- 
neath the ependyma. 
The diagrams show the distribution and character of those 
haemorrhages well enough, so that we may omit detailed de- 
scription of them. A few of the extravasations are more deeply 
situated and have a more significant position with regard to 
the important nuclear groups in the medulla. Fig. 2a shows 
one of the haemorrhages just on the outskirts of the sensory 
vagus, and other smaller ones close to the hypoglossal nuclei. 
The extravasation near the vagus is confined by the perivascular 
space of the median lateral artery of the medulla, which takes 
the course of the dotted line a-, y, in Fig. 2. 
These hemorrhages look as if due to the passage of blood 
along the perivascular spaces, and out into the tissues after 
rupture of a small vein or capillary, hut whether any especial 
significance should be attached to these hemorrhages, or wheth- 
er they are caused directly by the current, or by intense muscu- 
lar tension, or by manipulation in removing the brain, are ques- 
tions extremely difficult to decide about. 
The Peripheral Nerves.—The sciatic nerves from both sides 
were examined without finding any change or difference be- 
tween the sciatic of the electrode side and its fellow. 
The delicate structures of the retina lying so close to the 
electrode are not altered. 
The shin beneath the electrode is but slightly changed. The 
epidermis is absent or raised up from the corium and has a 
dried-up appearance. The corium, structurally, is nearly nor- 
mal ; the connective-tissue nuclei are not shrunken and stain 18 
GROSS AND MICROSCOPICAL EXAMINATIONS 
well, but the connective-tissue bundles and fibers seemed changed' 
chemically and behave abnormally with certain staining re- 
agents. The sweat glands are degenerated to a considerable 
extent; they have a desiccated appearance. 
It would then appear from this examination that, beyond 
the scalding effects of the electrodes, electric currents passed 
through the body in this way produce no change in the body 
except minute petechise, and it is doubtful if these are not some 
indirect or secondary consequence of the current. The results 
of the microscopical examination of the two remaining subjects 
-—Loppy and McElvaine—are corroborative in every way of 
this examination. 
It seems proper to add that the central nervous system of 
only one of the first four cases was removed, because nothing 
was found in it which would receive any further elucidation 
from the examination of the other three cases. 
Methods of the Preparation of the Specimens. 
The Blood.—Two drops from a glass rod dipped in the 
reshly cut right ventricle were received in a one-per-cent, 
aqueous osmic-acid solution. 
The sciatic nerves were prepared in the same medium by 
gently pulling short fasciculi out of their lamellar sheaths, al- 
lowing the acid to penetrate. 
The Central Nervous System.—Thin shavings of the con- 
volutions and of the cervical spinal cord were placed in alco- 
holic and aqueous solutions ‘of corrosive sublimate of different 
strength for periods of time varying from an hour to several 
days. Exceedingly small portions of the gray matter were also 
hardened in Fleming’s osmic-acid mixture and in one-per-cent.. 
osmic-acid solution for half an hour. All of the specimens were 
subsequently hardened in eighty per cent., and then in strong 
alcohol. 
Still other portions of the convolutions were scraped gently 
with a sharp razor, so that the gray matter was reduced to a 
thick pulpy broth on the edge of the razor. This pulp was then 
shaken into exceedingly fine fragments in osmic acid and subli- 
mate solutions, so that the fixation of the ganglion cells would be 
as nearly as possible uniform and instantaneous. (Incidentally, 
attention may be called to this method as giving very good re- 
sults for ganglion cells, and being much better than the ordi- 
nary methods of hardening the cortex in blocks, no matter how 
small.) 
The medulla and portions of the cord were also hardened in 
Muller’s fluid in the usual way. The trachea, thoracic and ab- 
dominal viscera were prepared in sublimate solution, and also IN SIX CASES OF DEATH BY ELECTRICITY. 
19 
with strong alcohol in the ordinary way. Portions of the spleen, 
pancreas, and liver were also injected interstitially with osmic- 
acid solution. The eyeball, eyelid, and singed portions of the 
integument beneath the electrodes, were prepared with Muller’s 
fluid. 
All of these variously hardened portions of the tissues 
were imbedded in celloidin and sections stained appro- 
priately with several different methods, such as Weigert’s 
method, double staining with hsematoxylon and eosin, and 
also with the picro-acid fuchsin method. 
Pathological Laboratory of the . 
College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
Columbia College, April 1, 1892. REASONS WET? 
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