The Green Mile is a Stephen King film adaptation about death row in a Louisiana prison. By what name do the guards refer to the electric chair?

The Green Mile by Stephen King and its film adaptation use Old Sparky as the official method of execution. Old Sparky is the specific nickname given to the electric chair used in King's movie. But, in reality in the state of Louisiana, the nickname given to its electric chair was Gruesome Gertie. Electrocution as a form of capital punishment was used in the state from 1941 to 1991. Sixty one individuals were executed.

Old Sparky is or at one time was the nickname of the electric chairs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Additionally, "Old Sparky" has been used to refer to electric chairs in general, and not one of a specific state.

Reportedly, the name Old Sparky is used because six-inch to 12-inch flames have shot out of the head of condemned prisoners. Using various words, comments in newspapers have been made: "People who wish to commit murder better not do it in this state ... because we may have a problem with the electric chair." This has raised the question of whether the use of the electric chair is cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. Constitution. Most experts however will tell you that malfunctions were probably due to practices of the prison staff and not because of the electric chair itself.