Electric Chair, Greensville Correctional Facility, Jarratt, VA from the series "The Omega Suites",

1991

In this photograph from a series devoted to the spaces of capital punishment, the electric chair sits in stark contrast to the otherwise clinical atmosphere. While lethal injection is now the primary method of execution in the United States, electrocution remains an alternative form in nine states, should the condemned person choose it. Recent efforts to make lethal-injection chemicals unavailable have led several states to consider returning to electrocution. In Virginia, where this photograph was taken, the electric chair remains an option; it was last used on January 16, 2013. The State of Virginia requires ordinary citizens to act as witnesses in its executions; similarly, Devlin’s images confront viewers with the real spaces and implements of capital punishment.