mjl (05/12/83)
A comment on our times?
Mike Lutz {allegra,seismo}!rochester!ritcv!mjl
>From the May 12 Rochester NY Democrat & Chronicle (AP):
STUDENT'S MODEL OF ELECTRIC CHAIR WINS CLASS AWARD
[Picture of Stan Cox and his model chair]
VALDOSTA, Ga. When 10-year-old Stan Cox decided to build a model electric
chair as a school project, he wanted to make it as realistic as possible.
He said he got the idea when convicted murderer John Louis Evans III was elec-
trocuted last month in Alabama.
Stan's teacher, Sue Nelle Scruggs, said his model doesn't work, but you
couldn't tell by looking at it. When you flip the switch, the chair lights
up.
The chair is about 3 feet high and is made of slats from crates, painted gray.
It isn't strong enough to hold anyone, Stan said.
The headpiece is made from a baseball cap and the cuffs are made from an old
belt.
Mrs. Scruggs said her pupils are responsible for one class project each month
and are permitted only a minimum of parental help with their projects. Stan
got some help from an uncle, Jack Zeigler.
"He helped me do some of the wiring and put the control box on the back," said
Stan.
But he said the design was his own, and it won him an award for the most
creative project.
The youngster said his project taught him how electrocution works and what a
real electric chair looks like.
Asked how he feels about capital punishment, he replied, "I believe in it."