The Leaked Recording of an Electric Chair Execution – The Disturbing Case of Richard Boggs
This is without a doubt one of the most chilling recordings of an electric chair execution that exists. It was part of a set of secret audio tapes leaked from death row in Virginia, corresponding to executions carried out during the 1980s and 1990s. What makes this recording particularly disturbing is its rawness. You can clearly hear, without any kind of censorship, the real sound of electricity coursing through the prisoner’s body. And the worst part: nothing went according to protocol.
There was confusion, overlapping voices, and chaos just seconds before the execution began. The inmate was already strapped to the chair, and the governor’s office tried to contact the prison, but the call never went through. That detail is critical. By law, a phone line must remain open during every execution in case the governor grants a last-minute stay. But that night, communication failed, and with that, it became clear that the state wasn’t as prepared as it should have been to carry out an execution of that magnitude.
The man featured in this recording was Richard Thomas Boggs. He was sentenced to death after committing a crime driven by pure desperation. Addicted to drugs and out of money, he brutally murdered his elderly neighbor, Treeby M. Shaw, 87 years old, inside her home in Portsmouth, Virginia. Boggs wasn’t a stranger. The victim had been his father’s best friend.
On July 19th, 1990, at 11:07 p.m., Richard Boggs was executed at the Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond. He was only 27 years old. His death was by electrocution.
The recording you’re about to hear captures that execution exactly as it was leaked from the original archives. Only the audio levels have been adjusted to improve clarity. With nothing else to add, let’s begin.
Execution Audio Transcript
Warden: The warden is now reading the court order to the inmate. Staff: It is now 10:48. Warden: The warden has completed the reading of the court order to the inmate. The team is about to enter the cell. It is now 10:49. [clears throat] The inmate is now stepping out of his cell. The team is carrying the inmate into the chamber. The process is going very smoothly. Staff: Governor’s office needs to get to 306 in its title. Come on. Come on, Mr. Trangi. Mr. Trangi: Yes. Can you hear me? Staff: Yes. We are now in the chamber. Mr. Trangi, we need… we need to get 306 clear. The governor’s office is calling. Debbie: They’re strapping him in the chair. Hold on a minute. She said the governor’s office is calling. They need to get this line clear. Staff: Debbie, the governor’s office. Joy: Debbie, this is Joy. Debbie: Joy, the governor’s office is calling. What line? Joy: They need to get in on 306. Debbie: 306. Which line is he on? Joy: On Mr. Murray’s line. Debbie: I’m talking. Okay. He’s talking. Is it this line? Joy: Not the line you’re on. No. Well, Mr. Murray is talking to someone on the other line. So, it can’t be this line. No, it’s… it’s the one. It’s 306, which is in, um, where the cells are. Debbie: 306 is in where the cells are. Joy: Yes. Debbie: Debbie, nobody’s on that line. They said nobody’s on… calling on 2:30. Joy: 2:30. Debbie: That’s… That’s the line in the warden’s office. Wayne is on… Debbie. Somebody is… He’s trying to talk on 306, but he says 2:30 is tying it up for some reason. Joy: Debbie, you’re on 2:30. Talk to… on trying to call. Debbie: Who? Who the governor’s… somebody’s on 230? Joy: Hold on. Hang that one. Hang it up. Tell him we’ll call him back. Call back. This is your 2:30. That’s where we… Debbie: We are on 2:30. We’re on 230. I think… is it clear? Let me call the switchboard and see what’s going on. Oh, I did it. She said it was Cole was trying to… Staff: Mr. Trangi. Mr. Trangi: Yes. Staff: Is it clear? Mr. Trangi: No. Staff: No. You’re on 2:30, Ms. Trangi. Will I cut you off to get clear? Debbie: You need to cut me off this line because you’re on 2:30. We’re talking to you through 230 line. Staff: She’s going to check the switch. Debbie’s going to check with the switchboard. Hold on a minute. They said, who are you talking to on the other line? Mr. Trangi: Uh, Mr. Murray… uh, Chuck Allen answered the line and came in and said it was the governor’s office trying to get through on 306. We’re on 230 line up here at the present time. Therefore, this line is tied up. Staff: Well, the director is speaking with the governor’s office now. Mr. Trangi: Oh, he is. Staff: He is talking with Mr. Shropshire. Any message that needs to come to the director should go through Mr. Shropshire. Mr. Trangi: Okay. Staff: Okay. Mr. Trangi: Okay. Who… Who’s on the other end of that line? Do you know? Staff: No, sir. I do not. Mr. Trangi: Okay. See if that’s what we did. Uh, Ed, this is Bob Herring. That’s… We didn’t know who… uh, we didn’t know for sure whether you had contact down there with the governor’s office. Staff: The director is in the governor’s office. Bob Herring: Okay. Fine. Okay. That’s what… the inmate is in the chair. He has been strapped in the chair. It is now 10:43… 53, correction. Staff: Mr. Trangi. Mr. Trangi: Yes. Staff: Captain Green just gave us the message that the governor’s office called and said that the stay was denied. That was the message she brought up to us. Mr. Trangi: All right. Thank you. Are you proceeding? Staff: Yes, we are proceeding. Mr. Murray is on the phone now with the governor’s office. Mr. Trangi: Thank you. No one’s doing somebody. Staff: Well, Lieutenant Ray knows that we have a private line that goes over there. If Mr. Murray’s talking with the office, I need for them to be calling us up here. Mr. Trangi: That’s true. I don’t think it could have been a crank call. Staff: I don’t think it happened, though, until after this strapping happened here, though. They must have tried another one. Well, they… what they were doing was trying to [clears throat] put him on. Warden/Staff: We’re going on. Debbie, you need to keep an accurate time of the delay. It is now 10:59. The process is proceeding. The process is proceeding at 11:01. The first surge of electricity has been administered. It’s now 11:02. [clears throat] The second surge of electricity has been administered. The second surge has been completed at 11:03. No complications with that table. [clears throat] There have been no complications in the process. Was there any last words? Staff: No last words. At 11:06, the team member is opening the inmate’s shirt for inspection by the physician. [clears throat] Physician: It is now 11:07. The physician has announced the expiration of the inmate. The process is complete as required by law with no complications.
