Despite this quote from Edison, he was instrumental in bringing about the deaths of numerous animals, dogs, horses and even elephants as well as bringing about the use of the electric chair in his rivalry on AC versus DC.
It was also Edison who supplied part of the equipment used to electrocute the first man who were executed in this manner. The poor sod didn't die and was subjected to a second round where they basically kept it on until he was fried, literally.
"Despite Edison's contempt for capital punishment, the war against AC led him to become involved in the development and promotion of the electric chair as a demonstration of AC's greater lethal potential versus the "safer" DC. Edison went on to carry out a brief but intense campaign to ban the use of AC or to limit the allowable voltage for safety purposes. As part of this campaign, Edison's employees publicly electrocuted animals to demonstrate the dangers of AC;[30][31] AC electric currents, particularly near 60 Hz frequency, have a markedly greater potential for inducing fatal “Cardiac Fibrillation” than do DC currents.[32] On one of the more notable occasions, in 1903, Edison's workers electrocuted Topsy the elephant at Luna Park, near Coney Island, after she had killed several men and her owners wanted her put to death.[33] His company filmed the electrocution."
"August 6, 1890 - Kemmler is executed in the electric chair at Auburn Prison, the first person ever to be
executed by electrocution. The first application of current is botched and Kemmler does not die until the current is fired up a second time. "
Source:
http://inventors.about.com/od/hstartinventions/a/Electric_Chair.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison
http://www.ccadp.org/electricchair.htm
