:03:03
[ Fred Leuchter,Jr.]
I became involved...
:03:05
in the manufacture
of execution equipment...
:03:07
because I was concerned
with the deplorable condition...
:03:11
of the hardware that's in
most of the states'prisons,
:03:16
which generally results
in torture...
:03:19
prior to death.
:03:24
A number of years ago
I was asked by a state...
:03:28
to look at
their electric chair.
:03:32
I was surprised
at the condition
of the equipment...
:03:36
and I indicated to them
what changes should be made...
:03:40
to bring the equipment
up to the point of doing
a humane execution.
:03:51
Beyond making
recommendations for changes,
:03:54
I sat down, on my own time
and at my own expense,
:03:58
and made a new design
and new equipment...
:04:01
available to the states...
:04:03
utilizing electrocution...
:04:06
at a price far lower than
they would have to deal with...
:04:10
if they hired
an engineering firm
to redesign a specific item.
:04:15
The equipment
is all standardized,
:04:17
it all meets the current
electrical requirements
for electrocution...
:04:22
and the pricing is such...
:04:24
that it's similar
to what you'd pay for
an off-the-shelf item,
:04:28
even though it's made up.
:04:30
They essentially pay
for the parts, the labor
and the installation,
:04:34
and a 20-percent markup,
which is more than fair.
:04:43
We are testing
the electrocution system...
:04:45
here at
the Tennessee State Prison.
:04:48
This is connected to
the execution system...
:04:52
in place of
the electric chair,
:04:54
and the system thinks
that this is a human body.
:04:58
It consists of a series
of heavy-duty resistors...