Electric chair, other execution tools donated to Virginia Museum of History and Culture

RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — On Friday, Governor Ralph Northam announced that several items used to execute people in Virginia were being transferred to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond.

“This action closes the era of state-sponsored execution in Virginia,” said Governor Northam. “The Commonwealth asked the Museum to accept these items, as they have the curatorial expertise to appropriately manage and interpret such materials.”

After executing more than 1,300 people, Northam signed legislation to end the use of the death penalty in March 2021. Virginia was the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty and the first one in the south.

At the time, Northam said the death penalty has been disproportionately applied to Black people and is the product of a flawed judicial system that doesn’t always get it right. Since 1973, more than 170 people around the country have been released from death row after evidence of their innocence was uncovered, he said.

“The Commonwealth’s history of using capital punishment is an important part of history, and the Museum is focused on telling Virginia’s full and true story for future generations,” Northam added.

Officials say the 114-year-old electric chair was used to execute 267 people. It was originally installed at the Virginia State Penitentiary on Spring Street near downtown Richmond in 1908 and later was moved to Greensville Correctional Center.

It remained there until earlier this week.

In addition, the Commonwealth donated the medical gurney used for executing people by lethal injection, along with other tools used to carry out executions, including leather straps.

The following items were donated:

Item	Description	Serial No.	Quantity
Phillips Heart Monitor	Heart Monitor Model M3536A	US00327726	1
Eden Heart Monitor	Heart Monitor Model IM50	333153-M17602270057	1
Eden Heart Monitor	Heart Monitor Model IM50	333152-M15304290007	1
Wooden Partition	Partition Used For Lethal Injections	None	1
Curtain	Blue Partition Curtain Used For Lethal Injections	None	1
Medical Gurney	Gurney Model 600	6367T	1
Resistor Bank	Test Equipment for Electric Chair	None	1
Execution Chair	Execution Chair – Oak	None	1
Base	Base for Chair Mounted to Floor	None	1
Wall Phone	Wall Phone – Red	None	1
Wall Switch	Wall key-switch for Warden	None	1
Control Panel Unit	Controls for Electrocution Execution	None	1
Aluminum Pot Large	Pot for soaking sponges	None	1
Aluminum Pot Small	Pot for soaking sponges	None	1
Aluminum Strainer	Draining of Sponges	None	1
Indicator Lights/Switch	Carlon Indicator Lights	None	1
Leg Straps	Leg straps for gurney	None	14
Chest Strap	Chest strap for Gurney	None	2
Ankle Strap	Ankle Strap for Gurney With Key	None	2
Thigh Straps	Thigh Straps for Gurney	None	2
Keys	Spare Keys for Ankle Straps	None	4
Natural Sponges	Sponges for Contact Points	None	3
Face Mask	Leather Face Mask	None	4
Leg Strap	Leg Contact	None	1
Spare Contact	Spare Contacts	None	2
Spare Spring Straps	Spare Springs	None	4
Rubber Electrical Gloves	1 Pair	None	1
Leather Gloves	2 Pair	None	2
Red Rubber Gloves	3 Pair	None	3
Copper Helmet	Head Contact	None	1
120 Grit Sand Paper	Cleaning	None	3
Emory Cloth	Cleaning	None	1
Used Toothbrush	Cleaning	None	1
Lemon Oil	Cleaning	None	1
Brasso	Cleaning	None	1
English Oil	Cleaning	None	1
Red Wall Phone	Spare Phone	None	1
Spare Leather	Spare Leather	None	1
Long Leather Strip	Spare Strip for Helmet	None	6
Short Leather Strip	Spare Strip for Helmet	None	7
Amplifier	Amplifier for Sound- McGohan Electronics Model MSB103	None	1