The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-11-27
4 BUNGLING EXECUTION.
The Hangman Loses His Nerve,
Causing a Fearful Scene.
Grcans and Contortions Of the
Dangling Victim.

Joseph NJ. Hillman, convicted Of the muir
der Of Herman Seideman, Hebrew pedler,
has been executed in a corridor of the Glou-
cester County Jail at Woodbury., N. j.
James Vanhise, the professional hangman OF
Newark, furnished the gallows and conduct
ed the hanging. Sheriff Ridgway merely pull
ing the rope which operated the fata! drop.
The galiows was of the sort which requires
no scaffold, but by weights and rope run
ming over pullies jerks the criminal upward
and let's him drop the length of the slack.
This was the thirty-sixth execution OF tne
kind performed by Eanhise, but notW1th-
standing his experience the execution was
badly managed and caused a sickening scene
in the jail.
The extraordinary nerve displayed by
Young Hillman during the trial in court DID
not forsake HIM in the closing ordeal. he
slept well during the night and in the morn
ing ate his breakfast with relish. During
the morning hours he was visited by Rev.
W. Mobiles and Rev. George Carter, the TWO
ministers who acted as his spiritual ADVISERS
since he was sentenced; his counsel Messrs
Harris and Scovel, and by his father and
brother Ephraim, the latter remaining to
witness the execution.
In bidding his father farewell Joe broke
down and wept freely, but soon recovered
his composure To the ministers and his
counsel he adhered to the statement ne mas
repeated often, that he did not do the killing
alone. but was assisted by another man. 10
that alleged accomplice he has at dl1erenI
times given different names. he expressed
himself as not only fearless OF death, 1ut en-,
tirely willing to die, as he was sure ne hao
been forgiven.
The persons designated under the law to
witness the execution, about twenty-five IN
number, assembled in the jail corridor az
1O:25A. NJ. Hillman was led from his cell at
the farther end from the gallows, his arms
pinioned, the black cap placed on his head,
and the moose with short piece OF rope aoout
his neck. Escorted by the Sheriff ana tne
two ministers, he walked with nrm sIeP 70
the gallows. and the end of the rope on ms
neck was attached to the rope hanging rom
the upper beam. The ministers baoe nun
roodby with a few words of consolation, and
the Sheriff asked him if he had anything 70
say. ,
Speaking in voice loud and distinct, Hill
man said: "Dear friends, am about going
10 heaven. All I have got to say is, that my
wife had nothing to do with it: am the only
Hillman that touched him. l have forgiven
gou all. and hope you have forgiven me,
and some day hope to meet you all IN
leaven."
The cap was drawn down over the face,
Vanhise adjusted the moose, Joe saying as ne
slipped it up Don't draw it so tight, and
Sheriff Ridgway pulled the rope. The body
;bot inward to the top of the gallows. about
fourteen feet high, dropped until the feet
nearly touched the floor, fetching up. with
sharp rebound, and then hung for few Sec
onds entirely motionless.
Then the arms and legs began to twitch,
the hands were raised as high as the strap
fastening the arms would allow, and heart
rending means, some Of them almost similar
TO articulate utterances, escaped from the
wretched man.
The moose had loosened instead of tighten
ing. and the knot having slipped from the
side TO the front of the head, there was no
pressure on the front of the throat. The
executioner seized the rope to readjust the
moose. two officers lifting the body to aid him
in doing so. The knot was slipped down and
held in place, and as the weight Of the body
again rested in the moose the throttled mans
hand that had clutched the hangman's coat
relaxed, and all the struggles ceased.
The scene was too painful for many of the
SPECTATORS, who turned their faces away from
the sickening sight, and some of them left
the Jail as hurriedly as possible. "Horrlble!'
"Outrageous 'Blutalr' were words heard
on every hand In eight minutes from the
drop the pulse ceased to beat. Six minutes
later pulsation at the heart stopped. and the
man was pronounced to be dead at five
minutes to eleven.
Vanhise's explanation Of the unsuccessful
execution was that he became unnerved when
Hillman asked him not to make the moose
tight and yielded too much to the request.
The crime for which Hillman paid the
death penalty was committed over year
ago. and remained for four months undis-
covered. One day last March a man fishing
in Nash's mill pond at Turnerville found the
nearly nude body Of a man bearing marks
on the head that indicated murder.
The body was not identified at
first. but about three days afterward it was
found to be that Of Herman Siedeman, a
pedler who had been known to make trips in
that neighborhood and had been missing
from his boarding place in Philadelphia since
the early part Of November, 1888.
The fact that Joe Hillman adopted the
vocation Of pedler about the time the muir
der was supposed to have been committed,
coupled with rather bad reputation, di-
rected suspicion to him. He was placed I'M
der arrest and Prosecutor Perry and Detec-
tive Garrison worked away at the case until
a mass of damaging evidence had been col
lected. The trial, which took place in Sep
tember, lasted eight days. At the time of
Hillman's arrest he was twenty years old
end kent house with wife and baby.