Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-04-03

Sheriff Lewis, of Carroll county; Rev.
DR.. Howard and Rev. Geo. ID. Sail
ders.
JEFF. was perfectly cool,calm and self
possessed. He was we'll dressed ana
presented a good appearance.
DR.. Howard began the proceedings
on the scaffold by reading a selection
from the Bible. He then announced
the hymn, "Savior, More than Lite to
me-" which was sung, jeff. joining In
it heartily. Mr.. Sanders then made an
earnest and feeling prayer, dwelling
upon the solemnity of the occasion;
invoking the mercy of God; warning
evil doors by Jeff's fate, and trusting
Jesus blood for Jeff's salvation. While
the prayer was being made Jeff. smiled
and nodded his assent. At its conclu-
sion he advanced to the front of the
scaffold and spoke as follows:
"Friends, brothers, fellow-citizens:
1 stand before you to-day as a man to
whom many of you have been kind; l
feel it to be my duty to say something.
1 see here a large gathering of people.
have been here, off and on, since '6s
and l have never seen a larger. l am
glad to see you. | see many young
faces. colored and white; let this scene
be a warning to them; let them learn
what evil will bring them to. There
have been so many rumors of what l
was to say this day that am told some
were afraid to come here. Friends,
brothers, sisters, l am not here in my
last hour of earth to any
ones evil deeds. 1 leave those things
with them and their God. May God
bless those young men as | know He
has blessed me. have a duty to do in
complimenting my friends. l have
some friends here now l know; but
there is a greater friend for me to look
to, as 1 hope my friends will do. l am
thankful for all they have done for me,
| I'M thankful to my attorneys. God
bless them! They made a good fight
for me at the bar. 1 have made
a better fight at a greater
bar. I want them now to
help me plead at that bar. Many have
come here thinking to see such a face
as I hope they do not see. am the
sorriest man on the globe. Sorry about
what? Sorry because l have got to
| die. No; l am not sorry about that;
| but l I'M sorry for the one that went
before me and for whom I am here to
pay the penalty. Sorry because she
was plunged into eternity without such
chances for repentance as l have had.
l have surrendered myself unto God;
1 believe my sins have been forgiven.
| You are all here to bear witness that l
could not stand here as l do if l did not
know this. Every day and hour and
minute 1 have prayed and even walked
up praying for forgiveness and for
strength to meet my punishment boldly.
[ cannot say much as a warning, as
most of this crowd is more intelligent
than 1 am. l will say this, though, that
put any hundred OF you in like circum-
stances to the ones which surrounded
me and 80 of you would stand where
1 stand to-day. 1 will cut my speech
short. l thank you and 1 thank the
officials. l surrendered to the officers,
into the prison, just SO [ surrender my
self into the hands of God; and l am
the gladdest nan to meet this day. l
thank you for your attention"
The speech occupied Is minutes.
| After it he nodded, smiled and waved
his hand to- friends whom he recognized
in the crowd. The hymn, go, Think
of the Home Over There" was sung lin
which jeff. joined. He then took off
his watch and handed it to Mr.. Joseph
Chinn, and.the Rev. DR.. Howard made
a long and earnest prayer. Jeff. then
removed his overcoat, and at IL o'clock
the sheriff began tying the rope to the
beam overhead. He then strapped Jeff's
feet together and tied his arms together
with a small rope. While this was
being done the prisoner was smiling
and bowling to his friends. AT II :O5
the black cap was put his head
and the knot was adjusted under his
left ear; at II :O6 the trap was sprung
and the soul of Jefferson Wilson was
sped into eternity, His neck was
broken by the fall and there was
scarcely a struggle. His legs were
drawn up once, and straighten-
ing them out his feet touched
the trap that had fallen under him and
the body swayed against the rope, but
he was already dead and there was no
convulsive motion. Drs. Russell,
Chambers and Bane were Immediately
at hand. At 11:O7 the pulse was 60;
IL :0s, 60; II :O9. 40; IL 40, 80; 11:l2,
"a; 11:16, "a; 11:20, 2; 1892, none
About five minutes afterward he was
taken down aud placed in his coffin and
turned over to his relatives, who took
the body to the country for interment
Whatever else may be alleged of
Jefferson Franklin Wilson it is here
only just to say, that no man ever
went to his death more bravely than
he. The majesty Of the law is vindi-
Gated. May Gods mercy rest upon his
soul.
JEFF's SECOND TRIAL.
After the first conviction, as narrated
elsewhere, jeff. Wilson's attorneys
Messrs. Young, Hall and Hicklin, ap
pealed to the supreme court for a new
trial, which was granted on the GROUND
that the court below having in its in.
structions to the jury stated that il
certain events it might find a verdict O
murder in the second degree failed tc
define that crime.
A second trial was had, beginning OF
Wednesday, October 81. The follow.
/. ing jury was selected from the pane
l of 100 men: Samuel w. Roberts
Charles c. Brooks, George A. Chamb.
E lin, Joseph H. Anderson, Benjamin E