River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1890-08-14

Z ELECTRICAL EXECUTIONS.
Experiences, Ancient and Modern, with
Criminals fr France.

Experiences, Ancient and Modern, with
Criminals &c France.
Those who are In favor of the execu-
ton of murderers condemned to death
BY means Of electricity, as being the
quickest and least painful method Of
sending them out of the world, have
been led to this conclusion by motives
Of humanity which do them the utmost
credit. Strangely enough, however, it
Is precisely on humanitarian consider
atoms that NJ Beauquesne. the Gov
srnor, and the Able Faure, the chaplain
Of the Roquette jail. are opposed to such
an innovation. II is to the Roquette
that prisoners sentenced to death are in
variabiy transferred after their con-
domination by jury sitting in the Seine
Assize Court, and none are moro compe-
tent than the Governor and the chaplain
to pronounce an opinion on the subject,
except. perhaps, Monsieur de Paris"
as the chief executioner is called, and
even then his views might be regarded
as based, in q certain measure, on mo-
tives of personal character-for the
man who has gone about the country
chopping of heads with his guillotine
could scarcely be expected TO deliver a
thoroughly impartial opinion. Were he
to express preference for the electric
system he might lay himself open TO the
reproach that he was not quite as skill
full as he ought to be. The Able Faure,
who for the past five years-with one
single exception, that of Schumacher,
who as a Protestant received ghOstly
counsel and advice from a pasteur of his
religion-has accompanied to the scat
fold all the criminals executed on the
square in front of the Roquette, ex-
presses the utmost horror at the idea of
such a change. The worthy ecclesiastic
says that he has the utmost sympathy
for all scientific inventions, but he re-
fuses to believe that French Legislators
will be so cruel as TO protract by prepal-
atious which req uire cestain amount
of time the sufferings of even MUIR
derers.
The Able Faure has attended during
their last moments upward of sixteen
criminals, and he says that scarcely two
seconds elapse from the time when,
after a farewell embrace, he gives up
the prisoner to the eIecutioner, to that
at which the head of the murderer rolls
on the ground. He remarks indignant
ly that he never can admit that men,
however debased they may be, ought to
be placed like common animals in a
glass apparatus and struck dead with an
electric spark. This is opposed to every
principal Of humanity. The chaplain
Of the Roquette is, after every execu-
ton, in the habit of writing notes of the
II L. l.
ed, and he declares that not once during
the whole of his experience has the con-
demned man offered the slightest resist
ance. This he attributes, in a great
measure, to his own presence on the
scaffold, and he says that If the electric
system were introduced he would be un-
able to offer the prisoner the consola'
ton of religion up TO the last moment.
OF Prado the Able relates that although
he was generally regarded as a brazen-
faced and hardened scoundrel, he spoke
earnestly with him during his last min
utes, and that his confidence in him was
SO great that he begged him TO save his
body from dissection at the School OF
Medicine. OF Geomay, the murderer OF
Nine. Roux-Couloumy, he wrote that
he had died like soldier, Breton and
Christian. A few minutes before he
was executed he asked the Able to con-
vey his last farewell to his old mother.
The Able Faure says that at the RO-
quette every thing is done to render the
last moments of criminals as easy as
possible. and, like NJ. Beauquesne, he is
positive that, far from being merciful
innovation, the system OF executing
prisoners through the medium of cleo
tricity would really subject them to a
decided increase Of moral TORTURE
London Telegraph.