Three not-so-bright men were caught and charged with armed-robbery in a
small Mexican pueblo. They went to trial before the local judge, who was a
very hard man, and he sentenced all three men to death. The day arrived
quickly and the executioner(who was also the judge) ordered all three to
the execution chamber. "The guard will bring you in one at a time to meet
your fate. But to show you that I am not a cruel man, I will give each one
of you the choice to die by the electric chair, or to die in the gas
chamber." The guard escorts the first man into the chamber. "Which will it
be", demands the executioner, "the chair or the chamber?" The first man
thinks a second then decides the chair would be a quicker death. He's
strapped in, and the switch is thrown. Nothing. The executioner flips the
switch several times more, cleans the contacts, and tries again. Still
nothing. "Today is your lucky day. Fate wants you spared, so you are
spared. But you will have to watch your compadres die." The guard brings
in the second man, and he also chooses the electric chair. They strap him
in, and again nothing happens. They spend the next hour checking
everything, and still nothing. "Today is your lucky day. Fate wants you
spared, but you will have to watch you compadre die." The final man is
brought into the chamber, and his compadres whisper loudly to him, "The
chair is broken! The chair is broken!" "Shush!", yells the executioner,
and he demands, "Do you want to die by the electric chair, or the in gas
chamber?!"

The prisoner thinks a second then replies, "Well, since the electric chair
is broken, I guess I'll have to go with the gas chamber!"