He was best known as the first person to survive an execution by electrocution in the United States. He was first sentenced to die in 1945 in the state of Louisiana for the murder of Andrew Thomas, a Cajun drugstore owner who once employed him. Despite two separate written confessions, Francis pleaded not guilty. During the trial, his court appointed attorneys were totally ineffective, putting up no defense and calling no witnesses or raising any objections. They also failed to question the validity of the confessions. The trial lasted just two days and he was found guilty. On May 3, 1946 the chair failed to kill Willie Francis. The portable electric chair known as "Gruesome Gertie" was apparently not set up properly, supposedly by an intoxicated prison guard and an inmate. After the botched execution, a young lawyer took the case up to the Supreme Court. A protracted legal battle ensued but the judges ultimately found against Francis and the sentence was carried out on 12:05 PM on May 9, 1947. The same chair that failed the first time was successful the second time. He was the subject of a 2006 documentary and a feature film about him is currently in the works.
He was best known as the first person to survive an execution by electrocution in the United States. He was first sentenced to die in 1945 in the state of Louisiana for the murder of Andrew Thomas, a Cajun drugstore owner who once employed him. Despite two separate written confessions, Francis pleaded not guilty. During the trial, his court appointed attorneys were totally ineffective, putting up no defense and calling no witnesses or raising any objections. They also failed to question the validity of the confessions. The trial lasted just two days and he was found guilty. On May 3, 1946 the chair failed to kill Willie Francis. The portable electric chair known as "Gruesome Gertie" was apparently not set up properly, supposedly by an intoxicated prison guard and an inmate. After the botched execution, a young lawyer took the case up to the Supreme Court. A protracted legal battle ensued but the judges ultimately found against Francis and the sentence was carried out on 12:05 PM on May 9, 1947. The same chair that failed the first time was successful the second time. He was the subject of a 2006 documentary and a feature film about him is currently in the works.
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