five attempts would be 'cruel and unusual,' it would be difficult to draw the line between two, three, four and five. It is not difficult, however, as we here contend, to draw the line between the one continuous application prescribed by statute and any other application of the current. Lack of intent that the first application be less than fatal is not material. The intent of the executioner cannot lessen the torture or excuse the result. Francis was successfully executed the following year. See also List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 329 References Further reading Gilbert King, The Execution of Willie Francis: Race, Murder, and the Search for Justice in the American South, Basic Civitas, New York, 2008. Daven Hiskey, The Teenager who was Executed Twice, http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/09/the-teenager-who-was-executed-twice/ (Retrieved February 12, 2017) External links United States Supreme Court cases Capital punishment in Louisiana 1947 in United States case law United States Double Jeopardy Clause case law Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause and death penalty case law United States Supreme Court cases of the Vinson Court