The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-02 00:00:00

EXECUTION OF TORN FENTOA.

NOTTINGHAM, Wednesday.—The execution of
Fenton for the murder of Charles Spencer, at
Walkeringham, took place this morning in front
of the county gaol, Nottingham. At an early hour
in the morning a great number of people assembled
in front of the scaffold, and by the time the con-
demned man arrived with the gaol officials on the
scaffold a vast crowd of men, women, and boys
had got together. The street is narrow in front
of the scaffold, and the greatest precaution was
used in erecting the barricades, in order to prevent
a similar catastrophe taking place to that which
occurred at the last execution 16 years ago,
when 11 persons were crushed or trampled to
death. Some of the windows commanding a
view of the place of execution were let at high
rates. Many people took their places early on
the previous night, staying within the barricades
the whole of the time until the execution took
place; many came from the neighbourhood of
Walkeringham, the scene of the tragedy, and the
crowd generally was formed of people of the lowest
class. Previous to the execution the culprit was
watched night and day, and the Rev. W. Butler,
the chaplain, devoted considerable time and energy
in attending upon the unfortunate man, with the
view of preparing him for the awful ordeal through
which he had to paSs. These exhortations were

listened to with the coolness and indifference which
characterised his conduct throughout. The great
aim of the chaplain was to urge upon him to con-
fess his crime. He frequently conversed about the
death of Spencer, but up to yesterday had made no
direct confession ; his manner and tone of conver-
sation, however, were those of a guilty man. He
wrote two or three letters to his wife, inviting the
whole of the family to visit him. His wife and
mother have had two interviews with him ' • upon
the latter occasion they were accompanied by his
three children. This interview was most agonising,
both upon the part of the unfortunate man and the
afflicted family. He was visited on Monday by
three men from Walkeringham, with whom he con-
versed for some minutes on various topics. At half-
past 7 this morning the wretched man, after par-
taking of a slight breakfast, was removed from
the condemned cell to the robing-room of the County-
hall, where the executioner pinioned him in the pre-
sence of the chaplain and governor of the gaol.
Prayers suitable to the occasion were read by the
chaplain. Fenton took leave of the chaplain and
governor of the gaol. He then moved with a firm
step to the scaffold. He advanced firmly with a
steady step on to the trapdoor, placing himself,
without assistance, immediately under the roof;
then, without appearing to glance at the people at
all, who at this moment were solemnly silent, he
gazed upwards at the sky, as if in prayer, and his
eyelids quivered faintly. The hangman immedi-
ately advanced to do his office, and at once drew the
white cap over his face. While his legs were being
tied the prisoner trembled slightly ; the chaplain
then advanced and whispered some parting words
in the dying-man's ear. The hangman slipped the
fatal noose over the prisoner's head, and the next
instant the drop fell. A few shrieks from the
crowd, a quivering of the wretched culprit's legs,
and ail was over • he scarcely seemed to live half a
minute after the drop fell. The crowd, which during
the whole of the execution could not be termed dis-
orderly, then dispersed.