The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-03

to the State
As the days went by Cresswell got other
strange notions into his head. His long
string of dates on the wall began to viSibly
shorten, but after his first alarm he con
soled himself with the reflection that be had
made a mistake and taken down two for one.
| He got this idea one saturday, and insisted
that 1t was only Monday. he would listen
to no argument or reason, but insisted that
| wanted to have him hanged five or six
days before his time. Like all other CON
| demued criminals, be had thoughts OF
! suicide. | ha watched with no less than
| fifteen men who were executed, and the
I idea came to every one as a last hope OF
! escaping the gallows The experience OF
| most other watChmen has been the same.
As soon as CresSwoll's demeanor betrayed
| his thoughts | kept sharper eye on him.
! He had an instrument by which be could
! iniure himself but he resorted to Just
what l was looking for, He tried to hang
| himself with a sheet Off his bed. Of course
! the only thing he had to look out for was
my presence ! knew as well as could be,
| before | had been on watch half an hour,
that he had some plan on hand, and after
| had settled on it as attempted suicide,
| knew at about what hour he would make
| the attempt 1t would be about , O'Clock
in the morning. when | would be half ASLEEP
and the prison in its quietest stale. He weut
to bed early, pretended TO fall into sound
| sleep at once, and let him think he was de
| celving me. II was l: 80 o'clock when he got
| out of bed and he moved so softly that,
had not been on the alert | should not
/ have heard him. He had torn a strip of:
the stout sheet in the course of the day, and
| he now noosed it and fastened the other end
| to the top of his cell door | followed him
with my ears alone, as had been instructed
not to interfere unless there was danger Of
his death. He put the moose over his head,
| knelt down, and for half a minute endured
the torture of strangulation. Then his
| pluck deserted him.
| Out of fifty people who commit suicide by
hanging not more than two would carry out
| the design if they had to choke themselves,
| They stand on something and swing off,
and are thus helpless TO recover their feet
in case they repent. There isn't one man in
fifty thousand with nerve enough to hold
| himself down on the floor at the end OF 4
rope until death comes by strangulaton.
It's horrible way to die, and The pam
makes the victim desist after a few seconds.
! Cresswell stood il longer than | expected be
would for / had set him down physical
| coward, and when he lifted himself up he
| was thoroughly cured of the idea of tax
ing his own life. He pulled the moose over
his head, and, without Haiting to untasten
the rope from the bar, he flung himself or
| his bed, and was soon in a nervous chill.
| do not believe that any person who is
hanged by professional executioner suffers
the least pain. The drop breaks the neck,
or if it fails to, the shock is so great that the
victim cannot realize what is taking place.
| 1t is, however, quite useless to assert this
to man under sentence. There is ten times
the horror of being hanged that there is of
| being shot or drowned. The idea of having
| the neck broken seems far worse than
bullet in the heart. Cresswell's experience
had increased his horror of the hangman,
and | could say nothing to comfort or con-
| sole him. We had to call in the prison
| physician, and it was thirty-six hours be
| fore the prisoner could leave his bed. Their
he got another hobby, as | shall continue to
call them. Previous to this he had refused
| to see clergyman seeming to figure that
when it had come to that pass his time was
certainly about up. Now he was in great
| hurry to have the man of God make his
| appearance, and his plan soon developed
| He went at it to get religion" as earnestly
and in as business-like a way as man
| would to carry up a ton Of coal, and in
side of an hour he alleged a perfect change
| of heart, and knew that his sins rad been
| forgiven. Then he announced that he felt
"a call' to 60 out and preach salvation to
! other sinners. He said be felt certain that
! if the Governor knew Of his conversion and
desire he would certainly pardon him and
send him out on his mission. He really and
truly had this hope for several days, and
| the sound of his voice praying and singing
was continually heard through the prison.
| The clergyman finally told him he must no
| longer hope. and he fell from the heights of
exultation TO the depths of despair.
The last straw to which the condemned
| man hung was one have seen many others
| grasp. 1t was that ne would be reprieved on
| the gallows He talked to me in the most
| earnest and candid manner about it. The
Governor had secretly determined to lead
| him to the very brink of the grave as an
| example of the majesty of the law, but at
| that point the voice of mercy would be
| listened to and he would be sent to State
prison for life l deemed it best to encour-
| age him in this last idea, but he held to it
| only up to the moment when the Sheriff
came in to read the death warrant and bind
his arms Then he suddenly abandoned it
and fought like a mailman, calling us
| murderers and aSsassins, a.d giving us a
| terrible struggle to overcome him. We
had, indeed, to carry him to the gallows
1t was well that it was a private execution,
with only few SPECTATORS present, as he
| continued to fight us to the very second the
trap was sprung. The hangman could not
| place the knot under the ear on this account,
and Cresswell fell his distance so slowly as
| to choke to death, and to be long while at
| it, The value of the services of a clergy
man was clearly shown in his case, and the
| Sheriff declared that f he ever had TO hang
another man, he would resign his office
sooner than permit a clergyman near the
condemned. Cresswel played the hypocri
when he claimed to have a change of heart
From the moment we entered his cell to
lead him to execution until the trap fell he
uttered the most horrible oaths his tongue
could frame lie boastel of his crime
declared his sorrow that he hadn't killed
dozen instead of one, and turned on the cler-
gyman with:
"You cursed hell-devil, but l would like
to cut your black heart outn