Cruel and Very Unusual — Duke Carlisle

“O’Neal “Snooks” Williams, convicted of killing

storekeeper Lee Bradley, was electrocuted in the

state’s portable electric chair at the Lee County

Jail in Tupelo.”

- Clarion-Ledger, June 26, 1943

I recently came across the above newspaper item which caused me to imagine a letter which it might have prompted years later.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL FROM A CONCERNED (SENIOR) CITIZEN:

Dear General:

Criminals today are not afraid of authority because they know, if caught, their punishment will not be swift and sure. About the only thing they fear is a little overcrowding, not unlike what I experienced growing up with three brothers in a two bedroom house.

I remember the time when lawbreakers were tried and punished the same month they were caught. Not only that, sentences were carried out on the spot so that examples were made in the communities where the crimes occurred. A public flogging or hanging served notice that those townspeople would not tolerate stealing and killing, and potential perpetrators ought to think twice.

General, the Bible says “an eye for an eye,” and these days society is not plucking its share. In order to take our towns back, we must fight fire with fire, and I suggest there is no better way than to bring back the portable electric chair.

As my wife used to say when we were young, “Nothing can cause a feeling of safety and security like the arrival of the electric chair.” It was truly a sight to behold as it roared into town on a flat-bed truck with the restraining straps flapping in the breeze. We knew someone was about to receive his just deserts.

I realize you may be thinking, “What about the excesses and inappropriate behavior in connection with the local executions?”

And yes there were some. We all admit that the arrival of the chair prior to the end of some trials could have improperly influenced juries, and permitting people to have their pictures taken sitting in the chair was probably a mistake. Maybe even the sale of the little replicas which became so popular (particularly the ones that plugged in and gave a small shock when a finger was inserted in the seat) could have been out of line. And certainly offensive were references to the chair as the “portable toaster.”

But, Sir, compare those honest mistakes with what we have today. The system has become so inefficient that there is a really annoying logjam on death row. And when someone finally is executed it has taken so long and is so far from the scene of the crime that the satisfaction and deterrent factors are virtually lost. The message from our communities should be loud and clear – “before you take someone’s life, remember the chair is only a phone call away.”

I know certain format changes are necessary, and most of us would be agreeable to moving the event indoors. It wasn’t practical to stage it on the back of the truck, what with relatives and friends of the condemned always hiding the extension cord or unplugging it at the last minute. Although unable to witness the executions, the communities could continue to feel involved by gathering in brightly lit rooms and watching the dimming effect of the power surge.

I do think, however, it’s important to retain the tradition of allowing a relative of the victim to throw the switch while the others yell something appropriate like, “This one’s for you, Bobby” or “Take that, you buzzard.”

Finally, Judge, I would suggest that knowing an electric chair can be on the scene quickly is not only a deterrent to hardened criminals but can also be a huge influence on the young. I suspect many a child was brought under control with the threat – “if you kids don’t straighten up, I’m going to have your father bring the electric chair home tonight.”

Let’s bring back the chair and stop the killing.

Yours in the good fight,

A fellow American