Death Becomes Them Trivia Quiz

Answer: Being westinghoused.

Thomas Edison owned many of the patents pertaining to DC current. In the late 1880s Edison began to publicly promote DC current when George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla (a former employee of Edison) began advocating the use of AC current. Neither wished their favorite to be used for executions because of possible negative public opinion. Thus Edison promoted AC power and Westinghouse/Tesla promoted DC power for use in executions. Edison carried out a publicity campaign which included public executions of animals using AC current. Under Edison's direction his technicians presided over the public electrocution of several animals including cats, dogs, cattle, horses and culminating with 'Topsey,' a circus elephant. Edison also tried to popularize the term for being electrocuted as being 'Westinghoused.'

Answer: William Kemmler

William Kemmler was accused of killing his lover, Matilda Zeigler, with an ax in Buffalo NY March 29, 1889. He was convicted and sentenced to death for his crime. He was killed by electrocution at Auburn Prison NY on August 6, 1890.

Answer: Gee Jon

Chinese immigrant Gee Jon was accused of killing a member of a rival gang Tom Quong Kee August 27, 1921 in Mina, Nevada. He was convicted and sentenced to death. His execution was carried out in the gas chamber at Nevada State Prison on February 8, 1924.

Answer: Charles Brooks

Charles Brooks was executed by lethal injection at Huntsville, Texas on December 2, 1982 for his involvement in the December 1976 murder of David Gregory.

Answer: She was paroled.

Caril Fugate was only 14 at the time of the murders and was given a life sentence instead of the death penalty. She was given a full parole in 1976 and as of 2007 was living somewhere in Michigan. Starkweather was the last person to be executed in Nebraska (2007).

Answer: Alabama

The top five states in terms of the number of state sanctioned executions from 1976 to 2007 are: Texas (403), Virginia (98), Oklahoma (85), Missouri (66), Florida (64).

Answer: True

The gas used in American gas chambers was hydrogen cyanide generated by dropping pellets of cyanide into sulphuric acid. The Nazis' infamous Zyklon B also released hydrogen cyanide gas into the execution chambers.

Answer: Gilmore opted for hanging.

Gary Gilmore was tried for the murder of gas station employee Max Jensen in Orem, Utah on July 19, 1976. The next day he alledgedly murdered motel manager Bernie Bushnell in Provo Utah although he was never tried for this crime due to a lack of witnesses. Gilmore's trial was held October 5-7, 1976 and he was quickly convicted largely because he offered no defense.

The jury recommended that Gilmore receive the death penalty and Gilmore was given the option of death by hanging or by firing squad. Gilmore opted to be executed by firing squad and was very vocal in his right to refuse appeals to his sentence. Part of the huge amount of publicity surrounding Gilmore's execution is that he was the first person executed in the United States after capital punishment was reinstated.

Answer: Martha Place

Martha M. Place was convicted of brutally killing her step-daughter Ida Place on February 7, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. She was convicted and sentenced to death. She died in the electric chair in New York's Sing Sing prison on March 20, 1899. The governor of New York, Theodore Roosevelt, was asked to pardon Place, but he refused to do so.

Answer: True

Charles Justice was convicted of the robbery/murder of John Shoup in 1911 and was sentenced to death. He was returned to Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus and was executed November 9, 1911 in the same electric chair to which he had suggested improvements eleven years earlier.