The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-08-08 00:00:00

TFfl STOURPRIWITI OBSERVE&

THE EXECUTION OF THE SERVIAN

CONSPIRATORS.

The conclusion of the trial ,d the aasassins of
Prince Michael has been speedily followed by the
execution of the condemned. Sentence waapronou, ced
on July 27, and next morning at six am. the prisoners
were executed. With the exception of Joe 4 Jerewich,
who was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, and
against whom no proof of complicity in the assassina-
tion was discovered at the trial, all the other amused
persons who had been arrested, to the number of
fourteen, were condemned to death. Prince Alexander
Karageorgewich and his secretary, Triscovich, and
Philipp Stankovich, who had not been captured, were
sentenced in default to twenty years' imprisonment.
At half past five the condemned men left the fortress
and proceeded to the place of execution, which was in
a valley about two miles from the town, on the shore
of the Danube. In order to avoid a largo crowd, a re-
port had been circulated that the execution would take
place in the evening at six o'clock, whereas it was in
the morning that the actual tragedy occurr,ff Never-
theless, even at that early hour, an immense number
of persons were assembled, who occupied the heights
surrounding " The Black Valley." as the place of
execution is called. In the valley itself, a long
freshly-dug trench was to be seen, along the edge
of which fourteen posts were erectel. A large body
of troops who a ere present kept the crowd at a dis-
tance, and formed square along the bank of the Danube.
Precisely at six o'clock seven closed carriages arrived
from the fortress of Belgrade, out of which the con-
demned men stepped, and were conducted by the
gendarmes in front of the posts. They were not
ironed, and all of them presen-ed a serene, almost
cheerful, demeanour. The sentence of the court was
first read out to then% during which the prisoners
smoked. At the conclusion of the reading Costa Bodo-
vanowitsch and his two brothera begged permission to
be allowed to approach their brother PauL This being
granted, the three brothers advanced to him and
kissed his hand, he responding to this act of affection
by a fervent kiss upon the lips and forehead of each of
them.

Then commenced the pinioning of the condemned.
Their eyes were bandaged, and their hands bound
behind their backs, while they were fastened to
the posts by ropes passed round their necks. They
stood in the following order—l, Petkowitsch ; 2.
Vilotigewitch ; 3, Atanakowitach ; 4, Jekowitsch ;
5, Petrowitsch ; 6, Maritsch ; 7, Ljubonier Radovan-
owitsch ; 8, Gjoko Georg Randovanowitsch ; 9, Taditsch ;
10, Sima Nenaduwitsch ; 11, Rogitsch ; 12, Paul Ra-
dovanowitsch ; 13, Costa Radovanowitsch, 14, Sve-
tozar Nenadowitsch with their faces to the west.
Four gendarmes then advanced with breech-loaders to
within six paces of the posts, and fired up .n the first
prisoner in the row (Petkowitsch), who died instan-
taneously. The body was then detached from the post
and laid in the trench, and the same course of pro-
cedure was pursued towards sil the rest, who were each
shot separately. At the execution of Nenolowitsch a
sad catastrophe happened. One of the bullets aimedat
the condemned struck the post to which he was fas-
tened, and, glancing off, entered the eye of an officer—
Lieutenant Basil Mistowitsch, who was commanding a
company of soldiers on the ground, killing him in-
stantly.
The extraordinaty calmness with which the con-
demned men met their fate has been a matter of
general remark. Sims Nenadowitsch continued
snoking even after his neighbour was dead. Within
a quarter of an hour the tragedy was over. and the
bodies laid in the trench, which was at (axe tilled up
and levelled with the earth.