The Mayor of Lexington Avenue

Thirty-Six

“Old Sparky” was the affectionate name given to the electric chair at Raiford. The three-legged oak chair was constructed by inmates in 1923 when the State of Florida decided that hanging was too brutal a procedure for executions.

At 6:00 on the morning of October 22, 1996, while Jack and Pat were singing “Amazing Grace” outside the prison gates, the prison barber started shaving Rudy’s head, his right calf and a small patch on his chest where a stethoscope would eventually be placed to determine if he was dead. When the barber’s work was done, Rudy showered and returned to an empty holding cell, where he was met by the warden, the chaplain and several of the guards. The warden read the death warrant to Rudy. One of the prison guards then applied an electrolytic gel to his bald head and right calf.

Outside, the protesters were singing “Come By Here, Lord.”

Rudy was led into the death chamber. The curtain was pulled open and two reporters and two government officials, one from the legislative and one from the executive branch, watched the proceedings from the small viewing room. The rules allowed for the victim’s family members to attend, as well as representatives for the inmate, but nobody showed up for either Lucy or Rudy.

Rudy looked out at those behind the glass and smiled shyly, as if he was embarrassed at what was about to happen.

Rudy’s chin, chest, arms, wrists, waist and legs were strapped to the chair. A black hood was placed over his head and pulled down over his face. A metal cap attached to an electric cable was then placed on his head and an electrode was attached to his right calf.

Outside, the protesters were reciting the Lord’s Prayer and had come to the line “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. .”

At 6:59, the executioner was fixated on the phone outside the death chamber where the warden stood. That phone was going to have to ring if a reprieve was going to come. It never made a sound. At 7:00, the executioner pulled the lever and 2,000 volts of electricity surged into Rudy. His entire body lurched, straining against Old Sparky’s numerous straps. Then he was still. Two minutes later the prison physician entered the death chamber, stethoscope in hand.

Outside, somebody with a radio shouted, “It’s over!” People started crying. Jack held Pat and the two of them cried in each other’s arms.