Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-07-21
HANGMAN'S DAY.
EXECUTION OF ROBERT WILSON
AT MEMPHIS.
Scenes on the scaffoid, and History of the
Crime-othcr Unfortunates Helped
Hcavenward by Hemp.

Special TO the Gazette.
Memphis, Tenn, July 20.--Robert !
Wilson, who shot and Killed Frank Il.
Russell in this city on the Doth of Sep I
TENDER, 1882, was hanged to-day in |
the county Jail ,N'ifteen minutes after
twelve O'Clock. The execution was |
private. Only the three friends of the |
condemned, six newspaper reporters
and posse of sheriff's officers, as pro-
vided by law, witnessed the hanging. |
wilson was a colored man, about /
twenty years old, had good face,
and seemed perfectly composed. He
was attended on the scafiold by Rev.
Father Aloysius of st. Mary's Catholic
church, which religion he embraced
last Sunday. He made no speech but
only bid farewell by shaking hands
with those around him. Short, ner-
vous twitchings of his body were mo-
ticeable for two minutes after the drop
fell His neck was broken.
THE HISTORY OF HIS CRIME
can be briefly told. on the night of
Friday, September %, 1882, Frank b.
Russell, who Kept a grocery on the
corner of Vance and fernando streets,
detected Robert Wilson stealing
pt'nNo va w IlSVu Iltu WlIn Tie
stolen property down fernando street,
pursued by Russell, who called on him
To halt. Wilson paid no attention to
to the command, he was bent on maxi
ing his escape, and would have sue
| ceeded had not Russell, who was
armed with a pistol fired at him. The
ball struck Wilson in the right leg, just
below the knee, causing him to
| fall to the ground. Before hecould arise
Russell grabbed him and with the as
sistance of two men, Herman Waite
and Irwin Rainey, who had been at
tracted to the spot by the firing, car
ried Wilson to Shaffords drug store,
, which was near BY, for the purpose of
having his wound attended to. While
Rainey went to the telephone office to
call officers from the station house,
Wilson who up to this time seemed to
| be in helpless condition, suddenly
arose aud grasped the pistol which
| Russell had fired at him and which
he had carelessly laid on the counter
of the drug store. A struggle at once
ensued between Waite, Russell and
| Wilson for the possession of the pistol.
Wilson bit Waite on the arm, causing
| him to let go the hold he had on linn
and the struggle was left to Russell,
who caught the pistol and wrenched
it from Wilson's grasp. 1t was aU this
! period that all of sudden Wilson
drew another pistol from his pocket
and fired three times in rapid success
! sion at Russell, who fell to the floor
shot through the abdomen and right
breast. Wilson escaped hut was ar
rested late that night by police officers
/, at his home near the corner of Linden
| ond Main Of fNhn 10
ceived by Russell proved fatal, as he
died the Sunday night following, after
~ hours OF intense suffer
! ing. The night that Russell died
mob of about 200 went to the county
! Jail and demanded of the Tailor that
Wilson be given up. This demand
was refused and after lettering about
the prison for an hour the mob dis
persed. They evidently were without
a leader, otherwise.t might have
been experienced. Fearing further at
tempts at violence, the sheriff as u pre-.
caution removed Wilson to the Jail at
Brownsville, Tenn, where he was
kept until the excitement attending
the death of Russell had subsidized. AT
his trial, which took place last Janu-
airy, he was convicted of murder in
the first degree and sentenced
by the late Judge l.. B.
Harrigan to be hanged An appeal
was taken to the supreme court, and
that tribunal, after a patient hearing
of the case, affirmed the sentence o.
the lower court and fixed July 20. 1888
! as the date of his execution. His at
torncys, however, did not dispair o.
executive clemency, and applied to the
! governor, who had the records of tn,
, case submitted to him, but declined tC
. interfere. He wrote to Wilson las
Wednesday of his failure to see any
, mitigating circumstances that war
ranted Communication of the death
sentence. Wilson, while he had hoped
l for life sentence in the penitentiary
) from the governor, heard with stoi,
indifference, the letter of the govern
e or read to him. He was baptized las
!, Sunday by Rev. Father Augustus OF
) the Catholic church. During his con
t finement i'm Jail here he has been at
$ tended by two of the sisters, VIII
: doubtless influenced him to seek re
ligious consolation.
), EXECUTION OF A wIFEMURDERER.
q Canton, Ohio, July 20.---Geo. McMil
q Ian, the wife murderer, was hange,
), here to-day. The trap was Sprung a
:, HIS; he died without struggle, hi
/, NECK utlIlS blthtH. liz WIS II an
lachrymose on the scahold, begin
y his friends to pray for him and hi
= murdered wife and children. He ha
:, an affecting interview with his fou
" little children about an hour befor
: the execution. His last words wer
. that his late statements are true, an
that he should die inIocently, sacr
feed by his father and prostitute.
HUNG FOR RAPE.
Lexington, Ky, July 20.-Davi
lie TimDerlake, colored, was hanged ;
TO noon Tor rape of Maggie Lawson, GO
&c ored, girl nine years old. He mao
ST % nominal confession, claiming thu
a the girl herself was not innocent.