The Fiery Electrocution Of John Evans
Holman PrisonJohn Evans being interviewed in Holman Prison in Alabama.
Born on January 4, 1950, in Beaumont, Texas, John Evans appeared to have a promising life ahead of him. He had once been a Catholic altar server who dreamed of joining the U.S. Navy. But by age 13, Evans said, he needed “psychiatric help” and described himself as a “rotten kid.”
Years later, Evans ultimately grew up to be a career criminal who found himself involved in a variety of robberies, kidnappings, and extortions. While on the run with an accomplice during a three-month string of crimes, Evans shot and killed an Alabama pawnshop owner in 1977.
Though Evans admitted to firing the fatal bullet, he also claimed that his victim had “committed suicide” by reaching for the murder weapon. Much like Lockett, there was never any doubt that Evans was guilty. But his botched execution was so horrifying that many anti-death penalty advocates have cited it as a reason why capital punishment should not exist.
Bettmann/Getty ImagesThe “Yellow Mama” electric chair at Holman Prison.
On April 22, 1983, Evans was sent to the electric chair. Though the chair sent 1,900 volts through his body on the first jolt — a current that should have killed him — he survived. An electrode came undone on his leg. And according to Evans’s attorney Russell Canan, it only got worse from there.
Canan said, “The electrode apparently burst from the strap holding it in place. A large puff of greyish smoke and sparks poured out from under the hood that covered Mr. Evans’s face. An overpowering stench of burnt flesh and clothing began pervading the witness room.”
After authorities refastened the electrode into place, they administered a second surge of electricity. Canan recalled that “the stench of burning flesh was nauseating” and the smoke engulfing Evans’s body continued filling the room. Yet again, doctors discovered that his heart was still beating.
Canan requested clemency from then-Alabama Governor George Wallace, arguing that Evans was being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. But the request was denied. After the third surge of electricity, Evans was pronounced dead at 8:44 p.m. It had taken him 14 minutes to die. Up until his final breath, he had essentially been scorched to death.
In response, Canan denounced the “barbaric” and botched execution: “John Evans was burned alive by the State of Alabama. John Evans was tortured tonight in the name of vengeance, disguised as justice.”
