Daily Bread

In 1903, a circus elephant named Topsy at Coney Island’s Luna Park went berserk and killed three people including an abusive trainer, who tried to feed her a lighted cigarette.

The elephant was considered a threat and the owners wanted it executed. When animal advocates protested the proposed method of hanging, Thomas Edison saw a publicity opportunity and suggested electrocution with AC.

Topsy was fed carrots laced with cyanide and then electrocuted with 6,000-volts AC. She died "without a trumpet or a groan" within seconds.
Topsy’s execution was a public spectacle: about 1,500 people attended and Edison even filmed the event.