Florida's Electric Chairs

1924 - 1964

197 Executions

 
Florida Chairs, "Old Sparky"

Florida: 2 electric chairs. The first was used from 1924-1964, and then again from 1979-1998. The second was built in the nineties, is an almost exact replica of the first, and has thus far been used only once, for the electrocution of Allen Lee "Tiny" Davis in 1999. It's still available for use should any inmate opt for death by electrocution.

Although prison officials boasted that inmates cut down an oak tree and constructed it for free in Raiford's sawmill and carpentry shops, the Jacksonville Journal reported it was made at Cook's Cabinet Shop on Newman Street in Jacksonville.

The Sheriff of the County in which the crime occurred was designated as the executioner until 1941 when an unidentified private individual was hired at a rate of $150 per execution.

One of the most famous people to die in the chair was Giuseppe "Joseph" Zangara. He fatally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak on February 15, 1933.during an attempt to assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami. Cermak died on March 3, 1933. Dade Sheriff Dan Hardie pulled the switch on March 20, 1933. 

Note: The 197 electrocutions mentioned above are Pre- Furman executions only. 

Some info from Sydney Freedburg's article in the St. Petersburg Times, published September 25, 1999 as found at Angelfire.com.
http://www.angelfire.com/ia/justice/OldSparky.html