The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-04-06 00:00:00

EXECUTION AT LINCOLN.

0; Monday morning William Frederick Horry, a
young man of 28, underwent the extreme penalty of
the law for the murder of his wife, Jane Hurry, at
Boston, on the 15th of January last.
_ '

The prisoner and his wife, occupying a somewhat re-
spectable position in life, considerable interest attached
to the case. The prisoner was married to his victim in
1857, and for some time they appear to have
lived together on affectionate terms. Last year,
however, differences arose between them, and
they separated. The prisoner had become jealous
of his wife, and so overpowering were his feelings
on the subject that he broke up a business into
which he and his wife had been put by their friends
at Burslem, and abandoned any settled pursuit. The
young woman, with her children, went to live at the
house of the prisoner's father at Boston. On the 14th '
January the prisoner arrived at Boston having
previously purchased a revolver at Nottingham. Ile
was allowed to see his wife on the 15th January, but
he no sooner came into her presence than he tired at
her, the bullet lodging in the aorta, so that death
followed in a few sec,,nds. The prisoner's mother came
up and exclaimed, " Oh ! Fred, what have you done ?"
17pon which the prisoner said coolly, " Ihave done it."
The prisoner's brother appeared next on the scene, and
he made a similar inquiry to that addressed to the
prisoner by his mother, and received substantially
the same answer. Ile kissed his dead wife franti-
Ally, KM he had loved her passionately, and
be.iged for a lock of her hair, which one of his brothers
gave hiin. This brother led him away from the
corpse and he asked for a glass of water. The brother
suggested brandy, but the prisoner said "No ; I'll
have no more of that. I've been drunk on that for the
last six weeks." It may be added, that the prisoner
and his wife kept the George ILitel, at lturslem, and
that he there so gave himself up to habits of intem-
perance, that he suffered from deliriums trews& He
had been angry with his father for taking his wife to
his house, and intemperance and jealousy seemed to
have almost if not entirely unhinged his reason.

Since his conviction the prisoner conducted himself
pretty well, and the enforced temperance of prison life
had probably benefited him. He displayed a natural
solicitude about his children. Representations were
made to the Home Secretary on his behalf, a memorial
being presented from Boston, through the medium of
Mr. H. Staniland and CoL Amcotts. Mr. Bruce,
however, decided to let the law take its course.
Until Saturday last the prisoner strenuously refused
to see his father, against whom he manifested great
bitterness. The interview was very painful.
The convict ever since the trial had manifested the
utmost composure respecting his fate. On Monday
morning he rose early, took an. hour's exercise,
and while at breakfast quoted to the gaol surgeon
the lines from Hamlet beginning, " I could a tale
unfold." Hurry spent the remainder of the time
with the chaplain. While being pinioned he admitted
the justice of his sentence, and stated that he thought
the jury would have exceeded their duty had they re-
commended him to mercy. He addressed the re-
porters at considerable length, saying thathe hoped they
would not go away with the idea that the retiaarkablt
firmness and self-possession he was enabled to exhibit
were occasioned by indifference or bravado; they
were the result of a fearlessness of death produced by
repentance and belief in Christ. He particularly
wished it to be known that be forgave his father and
dipd at peace with all men. The scaffold was erected
at some distance from the gaol, but he walked the
whole of the way without assistance, his tread firm,
and a calm smile on his face. His fortitude never
deserted him. After shaking heads with the chaplain
and the gaol officials and thanking them for their good
Offices, he wished them good-bye, and mounting the
i scaffold, placed himself n the necessary position. His
last words, after the cap had been drawn over his face,
were,—" God forgive my poor dear father; may he
pray for forgiveness. God bless my poor dear cliildren.
Lord have mercy on my soul I" The executioner did
his work quickly. Horsy died almost instantly, and
probably without pain.

_ they
remarluable

-
After- a formal inquest by the county coroner, the
bodyinte interred in the Castle Keep,