Yellow Mama

Yellow Mama

"Yellow Mama" is the nickname given Alabama's electric chair.

First installed at the now-demolished 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 in 1927 and was first used to execute Horace DeVauhan that same year. (Previous executions in Alabama had been by hanging.)

"Yellow Mama" is now stored in an attic above the newly reconstructed execution chamber at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama. The last execution to occur using it was that of Lynda Lyon Block on May 10, 2002. Following her execution, a bill was passed that would allow for execution by either lethal injection or electrocution.

Cultural references

"Yellow Mama" is a title and theme of Dale Watson's song.

See also

*List of individuals executed in Alabama


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