Editing William Kemmler (section)

==Murder and Trial==
Kemmler murdered Matilda "Tillie" Ziegler, his [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage common-law wife], with a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatchet hatchet] on March 29, 1889, and was sentenced to death by electrocution at New York's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_Prison Auburn Prison]. His lawyers appealed, arguing that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_chair electrocution] was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruel_and_unusual_punishment cruel and unusual punishment]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Westinghouse George Westinghouse] was the main financial backer of the powerful and potentially deadly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternating_current alternating current]. After safety measures were taken in the future, AC would become the standard for distribution of main electric power. It powered the electric chair, but Westinghouse actively supported Kemmler's appeal regardless. The appeal failed, partly due to the even greater financial support of the powerful financial tycoon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Pierpont_Morgan John Pierpont Morgan]. Morgan was backing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison Thomas Edison] and wanted to use the execution to show that Edison's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_current direct current] was a much safer way to provide electric power.