<P> However, witnesses noticed Kemmler was still breathing . The attending physicians, Spitzka and Carlos Frederick MacDonald, came forward to examine Kemmler . After confirming Kemmler was still alive, Spitzka reportedly called out, "Have the current turned on again, quick--no delay ." </P> <P> In the second attempt, Kemmler was shocked with 2,000 volts . Blood vessels under the skin ruptured and bled and some witnesses erroneously claimed his body caught fire . The New York Times reported instead that "an awful odor began to permeate the death chamber, and then, as though to cap the climax of this fearful sight, it was seen that the hair under and around the electrode on the head and the flesh under and around the electrode at the base of the spine was singeing . The stench was unbearable ." Witnesses reported the smell of burning flesh and several nauseated spectators unsuccessfully tried to leave the room . </P> <P> In all, the entire execution took approximately eight minutes . The competitive newspaper reporters covering the Kemmler execution jumped on the abnormalities as each newspaper source tried to outdo each other with sensational headlines and reports . A reporter who witnessed it also said it was "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging ." Westinghouse later commented: "They would have done better using an axe ." </P>

Who was the first person to be executed