Event of 1899: At Sing Sing prison in Ossining, New York, Martha M. Place becomes the first wom
- When
- 1898–1899
- Where
- Brooklyn, New York; Sing Sing Correctional Facility
- Episodes
- 2
Martha M. Place, an American murderer, became the first woman executed in the electric chair on March 20, 1899, at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. She was convicted for the murder of her stepdaughter Ida Place. Although she was the first woman to die by this method, she was the third sentenced, following Lizzie Halliday and Maria Barbella.
Episodes
- Attack on William Place
On February 7, 1898, Martha Place attacked her husband William with an axe at their Brooklyn home.
- Execution at Sing Sing
Martha Place was executed on March 20, 1899, at Sing Sing Correctional Facility for the murder of her stepdaughter.
Background and detail
Background. Martha M. Place was an American murderer who became the first woman to die in the electric chair. Her execution occurred on March 20, 1899, at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. The event stemmed from her conviction for the murder of her 18-year-old stepdaughter, Ida Place.
Execution Procedure. Since no woman had previously been executed in the electric chair, those responsible for carrying out the death warrant devised a new way to place the electrodes upon her, deciding to slit her dress and place the electrode on her ankle.
Legal Context. Although Martha Place was the first woman to die in the electric chair, she was the third woman sentenced to this method. The first two were Lizzie Halliday, whose 1894 conviction was commuted, and Maria Barbella, who was sentenced in 1895 but acquitted the following year.
People involved
- Martha M. Place · Executed prisoner
- Ida Place · Victim
- William Place · Attack victim
Sources
- Martha M. Place Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-05
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.