NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — If Tennessee electrocutes Edmund Zagorski, it will be in an electric chair built by a self-taught execution expert who is no longer welcome in the prison system.
Fred Leuchter (LOOT'-cher) fell out of favor with corrections departments nationwide after he claimed there were no gas chambers at Auschwitz. It also came to light that Leuchter held no engineering degree or license. He had promoted himself as an engineer.
Tennessee still uses the chair Leuchter built, with some modifications. The only person executed in the chair was Daryl Holton in 2007.
Leuchter said he is concerned the modifications will cause his chair to fail.
Gov. Bill Haslam says he's confident Thursday's execution will proceed without problems.
