igoS.] OF THE DEATH PENALTY BY ELECTRICITY. 45 



densation which fades off into the surrounding unaffected areas. 

 The bulk of the central rarified portion shows a delicate network of 

 loose fibrillse which in all probability are glia fibers. The cellular 

 elements in the rarefied area are few in number though apparently 

 free nuclei are scattered in this portion. These areas follow more 

 or less closely the course of the finer vessels. Many of them contain 

 an unruptured vessel centrally located, while others contain longi- 

 tudinal sections with the areas arranged in a bead-like manner along 

 such vessel. These areas are larger and more numerous in the pons 

 than in the oblongata and spinal cord and apparently distributed in 

 the longitudinal directions more frequently than in other directions. 

 They seem to resemble gaseous emphysema and are possibly due to 

 the electrolytic liberation of gas in the peri-vascular spaces. One 

 is reminded of the punctures in a piece of paper interposed in the 

 path of the sparks of a static machine. 



Through the courtesy of Mr. Wilson H. Brown, Sheriff of 

 Philadelphia, I was permitted to witness a number of hangings and 

 thus was enabled to compare the new method with the old. 



The preparations for the execution were always swiftly con- 

 ducted. Upon this point comparison favors neither method. But 

 after the drop through the trap-door the ensuing seconds and even 

 minutes bear a different tale. In nearly all cases the heart beats for 

 about thirteen minutes. In no case could fracture of a cervical 

 vertebra or rupture of ligaments be determined in the ordinary 

 examination. 



In one case only was there no movement of the body after the 

 drop, although the heart beat the usual length of time. This prisoner, 

 a Chinaman, apparently died in syncope or of apoplexy. In others 

 the unconsciousness produced by the first shock of the drop appeared 

 to abate and in several instances there were conscious — or at least 

 semi-conscious — efforts at respiration, eft'orts to reach the neck 

 where the choking sensation was unbearable, eft'orts at reaching for 

 a support for the feet manifested by such vigorous efforts that sev- 

 eral witnesses fainted at the sight. 



They veritably " danced upon the air " until the asphyxia (apnea) 

 became so profound as to blot out consciousness, apparently after 

 one or one and one half minutes in some cases. 



