John Arthur Spenkelink
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John Arthur Spenkelink (born March 29, 1949 San Diego, California - died May 25, 1979 Raiford, Florida) was the first man to be executed in the electric chair after the reintroduction of the death penalty in the United States in 1976 (last before that was carried out in 1966 in Oklahoma). He struggled violently as he was being brought to his death. He was also the first man executed involuntary after 1976.
After serving in a California prison for petty crimes he travelled to Florida with another prison inmate. He was condemned to death in 1973 for murdering a travelling companion whom Spenkelink alleged had offered him homosexual relations and forced him to play Russian roulette in a Tallahassee motel in Florida.
After the execution, rumors spread that the fighting, shouting Spenkelink was dragged to the electric chair, gagged, beaten and had his neck broken. The rumors caused Spenkelink's body to be exhumed for an autopsy and the State further decided to perform autopsies on all executed inmates. Some witnesses believe Spenkelink was already dead when placed in the electric chair.
He is known for his quote: "Capital punishment: those without the capital get the punishment."
