See Also: Penn, William(dictionary)
Penn, William(encyclopedia)
William Penn Care Center(health)
Penn.(dictionary)
penn'orth(dictionary)
Penn (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
Penn, Irving(encyclopedia)
Skillern, Penn Gaskell(medicine)
Annie Penn Hospital(health)
Warren, Robert Penn(encyclopedia)

electrocution (sh) and Penn, William (oh)


electrocution (sh)




Method of execution in which the condemned person is subjected to a heavy charge of electric current.

The prisoner is shackled into a wired chair, and electrodes are fastened to the head and one leg so that the current will flow through the body. One electrical shock may not be enough to kill the person; if a doctor does not confirm the death, several shocks may be applied. The electric chair was first used in 1890. Electrocution also refers to death by Other causes of electrical shock (e.g., accidental contact with high-voltage wiring).


Penn, William (oh)



(1644-1718) an English leader of the Quakers (=a Christian religious group) , who was put in prison for having unacceptable religious beliefs. After he was let out of prison, he was given some land in North America, and he established a colony there as a place of religious freedom for Quakers and others to go and live in. He called the colony Pennsylvania, and planned and built the city of Philadelphia in 1682.