Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-04-26
ELECTRICITY VS.. HANGING.
Three Mon victed OF Murder FIX.
press n Preference for tho Former
Mode of Execution

Three Mon Con victed OF Murder FIX.
press n Preference for tho Former
| Mode of Execution
The New York 'nn says there are
two men in the Tombs convicted of
murder-Dan ell Lyons. who killed the
athlete Quinn. and Adolph Reich. who
has been found guilty of the murder
of his wife. In Brooklyns Jail there is
John Greenwald. whose life demand
cd for shooting Lyman S. Weeks.
These men have talked freely in an
swer 10 the question. '.How would YOU
prefer to die by hanging or by cleo
tricily" Each one says That if he
really must surrender his fe he would
choose electricity.
Danny Lyons paled just little at
this d rect query. That's a straight
question. sure" he said; "but it fair;
it all ght to ask that. for suppose
l am one of the few, the very few. un.
fortunate devils in this place or any
where around here who Is best able to
answer such quest on. Well I'm for
electricity. That seems to me to be
the safest for the sheriff and the least
cruel to the prisoner. You m ght say
what difference does it make man
how he as. rs long rs he has got to
die somehow at some set time. Well.
l tell YOU. it does make heap of diff
ference. Half the fear would come
from the horrible ideas that are con-
necled with hanging and The chances
of some slip in the exerut on"
But do you think that the knowl-
edge that death was to come BY cleo
triciiy would take away much of the
horror and responsiveness of capital
pun shmentp"
OF course l do. A man SITS down
in cha r the current is turned on.
! hat ends him. He's dead. But by
hanging he may not die for five min
uics. perhaps twenty. Then we are
accustomed to sitting down in chairs.
SO that there is nothing ugly in doing
that even though II man may know t $
n patent chair with Il W re- fastened to
it. But The dca of walk ny up II gal.
lows and having to stand on drop.
aud of wa tng for the haugman to
faster the moose and all the Other busi-
ness. s horrible. and enough to make
fellow shuIdrr."
Lyons said he would object. however.
to the provisions Of the bill that con-
demned pr soner shall not know the
exact date or hour when the sentence
is 10 be executed.
The Hungarian Adolph Reich, who
has been convicted of k Hing his W fe.
said he had seen five men hanged for
murder and two men shot rs spies in
the revulut on of '48. He knows what
death by the guillotine is Ike, and his
preference. he sad. would be the cleo
Lrical mode. The guiIlotine he thought
too bloody; hanging was barbarous and
not sure and safe, while shooting was
associated too much with the idea of
war.
John Greenwald, the Brooklyn burg
lar found guilty of shooting Lyman ).
Week, said he had pondered on the SUBJ
ject great deal and had concluded
that electricity was the best way. and
that it ought to be adopted. He has
talked W Tia men who has tried to hang
themselves and they have told him that
their experiences were frightfully hor-
rible. He believes in electricity be-
cause it is sudden and painless. Tie
victim. he says. is killed without tor
turc, except that mental torture VIII ch
must be the lot of anyone sufficiently
unlucky to get his lfe in danger.
Greenwald declares that neither method
wall he tried on him because he is going
TO have a new trial. and he is sure he
won't be convicted again. If he were
really TO die by command of the law.
he saws he would not care to know the
day or the hour of the execution of che
sentence,