The Sun.
London, England, 1822-08-22 00:00:00

EXECUTIONS.

BURY, AUG. 21.--On Wotinesday last; in Pr'
suance of their sentence, James Nap: and. JO4n Wade. Were
executed in a field adjoining the jail, in Bury St. Edmund's,
for a-burglary at' Hadleigh Hamlet,.. amidst an immense,eol,-
course of spectators, of whom a gnat proportion were females'
Soon, after twelve o'clock, the unfortunate culprits .ascended
the fatal scaffold, having devoutly joined in prayer with
the Reverend William Stocking, Chaplain to the
The apparent penitence of Phillips excited much comet'"
sexation, but Wade appeared bold and undaunted by his situa-
tion. The executioner began the dreadful ceremony, and
„had
just fastened the rone round the neck of Wade, and
the cap over his ?ace, when the drop accidentally mud
and precipitated to the ground Mr. Orridge, the hangman.ran
the other miserable sufferer, who being pinioned, received
-a
severe blow against the wall of the prison. The horror excited
by this accident may be more easily conceived than described-
The least pitiable
.object died immediately, but 'the other
wretched being was compelled to await his fate for 20 minutes
whilst a temporary scaffold was erected, and then was lauriebe"
into eternity. There is no doubt that the rope, which held the
drop up, was cut nearly through, with what. motive it is tilffi.
cult to conceive. It had been previously ascertained that the
platform would hear the weight of eight men.
Both Phillips and Wade admitted the offence for which tbef
suffered, and the justice of their sentence. Phillips gave -
paper to the Magistrate, in the handwriting of Wade, and they
both requested that it might be made public. The followieg
is a verbatim and literatim copy of it :
" Uenttlemen of the Parrish of Elmsett this is to inform
that whe are as innosent of roben any of you as the child that
still to be born, although you may think it is whe as thing!
have turned ute. Mr. Robt. Vince whe are innosent of yours
Mr. Manaster whe are of yours-31r. B. Steam whe are iith°;
sent of yours—Mr. John Vince of Wheatfield whe are innosell
of yours—Mr.Kistrick of Wheatfield whe are innosent of yotl,rsr,
Mr. Js. Hicks of Wheatfield whe are innosent of yours. ,at
tlemen as we _are known dying men whe declare to god u'ic
whe are as innosent as the Almighty in heaven of any of thee
robries.

(Signed) , " JOHN WADE
" JAMES PHILLIPS dluAr. 12, It2!'i
Robert Bennet, who was convicted at Bury last Assizes, "of
willfully setting fire to the premises of Mr. Downing,
Mellis. in Suffolk, was executed, pursuant to his sentence, on
Saturday last at Ipswich. The number of spectators was not so
great as on former occasions.. Bennet was a strong power e
man, six feet high : he took leave of his family the Thurso%
before. A mistaken notion seems to have possessed him tb:,
the world would regard his dying words as evidence of his inPa
cence. He spent some time in prayer with the clergyman ;
after he ascended the scaffold continued in prayer to hinisein,
after which he addressed the people—" Gentlemen, I am
nocent cf this as God in heaven—l Iv:as no nearer to the tire 71„,e
it happened than my own yard." He then said to the r!r:0
on the scaffold—" God bless you all, and pray for me." tie '
then launched into eternity. This dying assertion, whefi „rec°fp.
pared with his own declaration after his examination De ~..„
the Magistrates, when he observed to Gayfur—" You irbe
we did it, and I shall be hanged for it, and you ought t 6..„
hanged as well as I :" and the strong circumstantial evilli d ;si
on the trial must confirm any one that this wretched man be
without a proper sense a his situation, And that to the last be
was obstinately wicked. After hanging the usual titna,_
body was cut down and delivered 'to his friends. The P
op
o 0
tutor, Downing, was recognised amongst the crowd, and
so violently assailed by the populace, that but for the 111 e
ference of the Sheriff's officers, he might have iuffered,:scrl"-
injury.