Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-08-25
Execution i'm Delaware.
THE NEGRO REDDEN. WHO COMMITTED A RAPE on A
LITTLE GIRI, HANGED TODAY

THE NEGRO REDDEN. WHO COMMITTED RAPE on
LITTLE Girl, HANGED TODAY
NEW CASTLE, DEL, August 25-James Redden.
the negro hanged here to-day for rape on I2-year
Old white girl, named Sallie Purse near odessa,
last February, passed very restless night, pray
Ing and walking the floor, untii O'Clock this morn
Ing, when he fell asleep and rested for an hour ana
a hall. For breakfast he ate beef, fried eggs.
bread and milk, and ice cream. He wepa at times
during yesterday and last night. Yesterday after
neon he was visited by two clergymen, who spent
half an hour with him. His mother, who was to
have visited him yesterday. failed TO arrive. From
9ociock this morning up to the hour of his eXecu-
ton Redden was coseted in his cell with the Revs.
Nicholas NJ Brown, OF New Castle, and Wesley J.
Parker lcoloredn; pastor of Ezlon NJ, E. church,
Wilmington. They prayed with him, and he
Joined, in steady voice, in singing .'Salvation's
Free" and several other hymns. At lO:l2 the pris-
oner, preceded by the Rev. Mr. Brown, and fol-
Sheriff Clark and hfS son, George Clark, ascendei
the sea fold with firm step and took hts place on
the trap. Rev Parker offered up short prayer.
after which the moose was adjusted, the black cap
drawn over the prisoners face. his ankles pnoned
and, without saying word to those assembled, he
was launched into eternity at 10:l7 He died easily
or Stranguiatlcn In ii minutes The execution was
witnessed only by the officers OF the jlil two ply
slcians two clergymen, the jurors and press repre-
SentatlVeS, and one woman who manifested a
strong disposition to see man hung.
The following is history OF the case:
James Redden, who was also known previous to
his arrest as "Jtm Loaf, was fuli-blo01ed negro,
about 21 years old, and slightly under the medium
stature. His face was bcariless and somewhat
stupid and sullen in its habitual expression. He
had lived around odessa, in the central part OF
this county, most all his life, and had earned a
reputation Tor general good-tor- -nothngness and
an ugly disposition. Besides some petty offenses,
he was charged with having. some two years ago,
decoyed a drunken tramp into the woods, robbed
him and beaten him In a dangerous manner On
Thursday, February 231, OF the present year, Red
den entered the house of Henry Purse. tenant of
the late Bishop Scott, one-and-a-half miles below
Odessa, during the absence OF Purse and his WIFE,
who had gone out to their daily labor leaving the
house in charge OF their daughter Sallie girl OF
between IL and 13 years. SaIlie and her baby Sis
ter were the only inmates. The negro asked the
and set before him. Having eaten, he fingered in
the house for three hours, and during that time
forcby outraged Sailie, who resisted with all her
feeble strength Redden was arrested IN Odessa
the evening Of the following day, with some difi-
Guilty gotten out of town. and lodged in New Castle
Jail on Saturday morning. Threats OF lynching
were made. public Ieelfng being intensified by the
leader.
On the 24th of May, the case was called for trial
in the court sitting in this city, AID. after some
delay, jury was empanneled, made up of eleven
white and one colored men, the latter being the
first negro Juror who ever sat In capital case In
the court as counsel FOR the prisoner, and he en-
tered into the defense earnestly as to draw from
some OF his party the democratic) unfavorable
too strong to be shaken, and the jury after deIib-
Grating twenty-fOJr hours, and ballot1ng sixteen
times for verdict, found the prisoner guilty I'm
manner and form as indicted. Redden listened to
his trial and the sentence which followed close
thereafter with stolic indifference. and did not
seem to the observers to realize that his life had
been forfeited. While awaiting his execution he
maintained the same dogged Indifference to h.s
approaching doom, rarely referring to 1t, and still
more rarely exhibiting any emotion He was Wis
tied several times by his mother and sister, and
frequently by members of the New Castle clergy,
both white and cOlOred, in whose conversation and
prayers he seemed to ta6e much comfort He
talked freely about his crime, but always Stoutly
maintained that 1t was nothing more than seduc-
tion, and that he comIaitted no assault