Edison and the Electric Chair Author:Mark Essig Thomas Edison was, arguably, America's greatest inventor and he clearly saw himself in that role. Perhaps his greatest, and most controversial, achievement was the creation of an entire system of electrical distribution that allowed him to dominate the electricity industry with his "direct current" (DC) technology. In 1888 the New York legislatu... more »re decided to investigate alternative methods of capital punishment to hanging. The investigating committee opted for death by electrocution, calling Edison as an expert witness. Despite having gone on the record as being opposed to all forms of the death penalty in 1887, Edison spoke in favour of capital punishment by electrocution. Unscrupulously, Edison then engineered a campaign to ensure that the death penalty would be administered by the "alternating current" (AC) system of rival electricity supplier, George Westinghouse, thereby discrediting Westinghouse and leaving the important domestic consumer market free for himself. This industrial skulduggery is uncovered and told in Mark Essig's book.« less