Horace DeVauhan
Encyclopedia
Horace DeVaughan of Birmingham, Alabama
, was the first prison inmate in Alabama
to be executed by the Alabama electric chair
, nicknamed "Yellow Mama
" because it was painted with bright yellow highway paint. DeVaughan was electrocuted on April 8, 1927.
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, was the first prison inmate in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to be executed by the Alabama electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
, nicknamed "Yellow Mama
Yellow Mama
Yellow Mama is the euphemistic nickname given to Alabama's electric chair.First installed at Kilby State Prison in Montgomery, Alabama, Yellow Mama acquired its yellow color when painted using highway-line paint from the adjacent State Highway Department lab. The chair was built by a British inmate...
" because it was painted with bright yellow highway paint. DeVaughan was electrocuted on April 8, 1927.