Problems With The Yellow Mama
Alabama has experienced several problematic executions involving Yellow Mama. First, on April 22, 1983, the first post-Furman prisoner to be executed by Alabama, John Louis Evans was hit with the first jolt of electricity, which lasted 30 seconds. John’s body tensed up, causing the electrode on his left leg to snap off. Soon there was smoke and flames that shot out from under the hood that covered his head. When two physicians entered the death chamber they found him still alive. Ignoring John’s lawyer’s plea, a third jolt of electricity was applied and he died. The execution took a total of 14 minutes and his body was left charred and smoldering. In 1989 the state executed Horace Dunkins, who had an IQ of 69. Dunkins was convicted of murdering Lynn McCurry, a 26-year old mother of four. She was found tied to a tree behind her home and stabbed 66 times. In Dunkins’ execution the first jolt of electricity only knocked him unconscious. Charles Jones, the warden at the time, said that because the jacks connecting the electricity to the chair had been reversed, there was not enough voltage to kill him on the first try. Therefore, it took 19 minutes for Horace to die.
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