New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-05-16
HEMPEN JUSTICE.
A BUNGLING JERSEY HANGMAN


sincly" seems TO be applicable TO executions as won "
TO other lameniable occurrences Accounts OF nns"e
fill the newspapers with horrible details Oh sun'i
brutality. II was only short time ago 'n'' iO'
suffered the penalty OF a crime commi1tou wv =.
before ; on the Same day criminal IN bos'oh wa"
tho scaGod then there were the de'anS "
exeoutions in Buffalo and Baltimore ana Two
in Washington, while from the iar "o'' Wv
daily press tells Of like vndicauo"
broken laws This morning Nixon's terrible tate III tie
Tombs Prison yard will add more to the gnhS'y ~
Of criminals who have left their gloomy apoue '"o -
disnonored collins. Yesterday Morristown' ~ 90 "I'
ia fill of horror In the legal choking OF tho poor i
Luigi Idisgnani. and. as too frequently happ'"' ,
exeusabe bunder married the significance oil VIC WIZ
made Il entirely revolving, and prevented II from Oe
what morbid resident Of Morristowh WIN ''OOU -
hoped Il would be- 80 stylish hanging
The history OF Lus gnans crime is tolerably ia'"i'
and can be told briefly According to the prisoner own
story ne arrived in this country from MS own Sun,
climate in 1871, being then only ~ years oiu' ~" 49,
by some that he was finely educated ana posscSSo
considerable taste and refinement, but the staoi'"
appears exaggerated when the young itailap Is o'''
little later obtaining employment as street sweeper
and finally as scaveuger, in this city. IL "'o "n''o
residing among the wellknown Italian haunts III
ST that he became acquainted with and very soon enh
ored of his young countrYwoman, Johanna moor' "no
afterward became his wife, and still later MS within
There is little doubt that in the carry uaSS VI
bs wooded life he loved his wife with the passionate In
tensity peculiar the Southern temperament oue III
course Of time as Johanna began TO develop qualities
and preferences excessively disagreeable ana uater
inc TO him he came look upon her with fiery jealous
eyes and 10 be continually tortured with doubts OF her
iuAdelity His nature changed and IL tue story OF the
dead wife is true he treated her with great DrwaHy
until sho 0ed from him to KINDER oohp'nion' o"o
Boriatt n shoemaker at Dover. Lusignan TO inc HS'
moment denied this and claimed that she lett nun io
anohers love. At all events the dloagreemehts cunr
mated in separation and for some months all inc eol'
OF the husband TO find her proved nnalalnhE Oh tHc
morning OF Nov T. 1872. the shoemaker, Bofl''u' was
aroused by two men who wanted to sec MS
ho,sokeenor under which name he kept Johanna
"a his mistress On her appearing. LuSignan WHO nau
n last found her. decided that she was his WIFE, wch
she did not deny and urged her to return 10 us on
refusal on the ground OF illtreatment was met WIN
persistent entreates, and an angry alteration fooweu
in which the enraged LusgnaDi plunged a long knhe
into her heart Boriat who rushed to her rescue re-
ceiving several severe wounds before the arrival OF
officers.
Lusignan was tried Feb. II az Morristown. To the
evidence offered by the people ne could only proher in
language understood by his accusers, plteou' a
peal that he loved his wife and wanted her to come
back to him. Although an attempt was made to prove
that his wife first stabbed him, and although the Wfes
indety and general bad character were shown yet the
Jury found the evidence clearly against him. and he was
sentenced to hanged two weeks Two arguments
were made in his behalf but the sentence of the lower
court was sustained As the dreaded day approached
resort was had to executive cemency and repreve Of
two weeks was given by Gov Parker, the time expiring
yesterday.
During his imprisonment, Lusenani has at times ex.
hbited wonderful selfposession, possibly brayado. As
the last hours flew swiftly by from violent abuse OF thc
law and representatives he changed to calmer man.
and began to listen eagerly to the exhortatons OF his
spiritual advisers, who have been unremtDg IN their
attendance upon him. The last night OF his life he
refused 10 go bed and spent the time in PRAYER and
conversation with Father VasaO, Father Sheeran ana
Father Hickey. Ills food was eaten rayenously' not
withstandng week before he had declared his determ
nation himself and did actually abstain from
eating for whole days Once during the night he
became almost raving mad. and was with difficulty
uueted. Yesterday morning he ate his usual hearty
breakfast and sat recitiug his prayers and singing
loudly by the window, from which be could see the top
OF the gaows aud the curious bystanders who stood in
groups discussing in half whispers his condition. and
awaiting impatienily the fast approaching tragedy.
The gallOws was the upon which Antoine Le
Blanc was hanged in 1888. lie Blanc was Frenchman
in the employ Of the arisOcrac family SayTe. He had
the reputation OF being mild inofensiye man. and the
community was therefore fearfullY shocked when 1t
learned that the entire sayre family had been muir
dered in cold blood by the Frenchman The next hang
ing was that of Jane Hough coored woman, who muir
dered her mistress, Mrs. Haighi, who lived in lonely
township near St. Paul Beside these two four persons
nave been hanged upon tins scaold-GeOr Acker for
the murder of a named Gordon, Boonton Peter
Cuece for the murder Of his wife, Spring Valley
and two other men-One in BelvdeTe and one in New
The six cuts upon the base where the AK has cut
the rope are plainly spring attached TO the
rope yesterday thus doing away with the AK.
Among the 200 curious persons who peered tier above
tier from the buildings overlooking the yard and who
witnessed from within the Enclosure the terrible end Of
the murderer was little boy about years DID, who
was brought n 1t is hardly possible by his father who
explained 10 him the working Of the apparatus OF death
At 1l2O a. the Sheriff examined the galloys for the
last time and FIVE minutes afterward the condemned
man was led from his cell between two priests in full
vestments followed by the Sheriff and his deputy Mr..
Moore, Drs. Qumby and Saunders, and others. Lusg-
mani walked with head erect singing with loud voice.
in which there no tremOr. He dressed I'm
black suit, and wore his vest
and rosary, and held crnchx III his right
hand As he stood beneath the rope 1t discovered
for the first time that the ring OF the would not
reach the cord by nearly foot general sensation OF
disgust found expression among the spectators and the
Sheriff hurriedly and nervousy searched for box,
which was at last found, aud Lusignan was told TO
stand upon it. All this time the condemned young man,
whose eyes fairly Clustered with the excitement of
pense prolonged almost beyond endurance, had worked
himself into frenzy OF religious enthusiasm, and alter
nately sang and then shouted MILO Jesul mic Jesu"
calling out, Me no dIIalu 10 hy WlIel my
wife! / shall meet her up thereW When the box ar
rived the deputy sheriff stopped hauling at the rope
around the poor fellows neck, which he seemed to
think with few more jerks he could put in
with the rope above, action that was certainly
companied with the most painful excitement on
Lusl gnanrs part the rope frightened under his
He told to step upon the box
and the dramatic scene DO imagined when the
Italian, with leap, landed upon the UX planting both
feet upon It's bottom striking attitude OF aggrieved
determination and with his teeth clenched half Kissing
in his intense excitement CALCULATIONS In his
language. in which " Jesu |" "Garibaldi - "We - &C.
mil Ar Last no nj
ended the sable cap shut out his swapping black eyes
forever. and the Sheriff. pressing the spring. launched
the body OF the criminal nearly To the top OF the
fold violently that the reco OF the rope was nearly
feet. Owing to a bunglng rangement OF the knot
AhnIn LaNi.a "