John Louis Evans III, aged 33, was put to death in Alabama after killing a pawnbroker, and was eventually strapped into an electric chair chillingly dubbed “Yellow Mama”
A death row inmate suffered an agonising botched execution after one of the straps on the electric chair snapped – consuming him in flames and creating an odour of “burning flesh”.
John Louis Evans III, aged 33, was put to death in Alabama in 1983 after being convicted of killing pawnbroker Edward Nassar during a 1977 robbery spree.
In the days before his death, he was laughing in a holding cell 25 feet from the Holman Prison death chamber and told a prison chaplain he was “ready for death” if the Supreme Court refused to stay his execution.
He was eventually strapped into an electric chair nicknamed ‘Yellow Mama’ because of its coat of paint. When the first 30-second jolt of 1,900 volts hit, the strap on the electrode attached to his left leg snapped — the electrode flew off, and sparks and flames erupted.
Smoke and sparks reportedly billowed out from under the hood covering his skull, and a “pungent odour of burning flesh and clothing” filled the chamber.
Even after the first jolt, doctors who rushed in detected a heartbeat – Evans was still alive.
But the horror didn’t end there. A second 30-second jolt was delivered, and this time, small flames licked at his head, while more smoke streamed from his leg and the electrode cap strapped to his skull.
His body strained violently, his fists clenched as if locked in agony.
Evans’ attorney, Russell Canan, begged those watching to stop – he declared that what they were doing was “cruel and unusual punishment,” calling the execution “torture… in the name of vengeance disguised as justice”. Even as doctors checked again, Governor George Wallace refused to intervene.
Still alive, Evans was strapped back in for a third round. After the third 30-second surge, he finally stopped breathing. Doctors declared him dead at 8.44pm – 14 agonising minutes after his execution began.
Prison guards called it “barbaric”, and even officials admitted they’d never seen a chair misfire so badly.
The execution sparked fierce debate. Opponents of the death penalty seized on Evans’ last moments as proof that electrocution was inhumane – that it couldn’t guarantee a “quick, clean death”.
Eddie Nassar, 73, the father of Evans’ victim, said of his upcoming execution: “We gotta have laws. We have to follow the laws of God, and we have to follow our laws. If they let him live, he’s going to come back and kill.
“What do you do if a rat comes into your house? You kill him. I hate to feel that way but I do.”
