Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-07-16

morning. When the current had been
turned on, the electrician threw the
switch which turned it into the row of
lamps above his head. They burst
into glow of light that rivaled the
daylight shining through the canvass
covering of the windows about the
sides of the improvised execution room.
The testing apparatus showed again
satisfactory strength of current. The
electrician advised the warden of this
fact. The warden went to the great
iron door at which one of the assistants,
whom he had appointed under warrant
of law, and it was opened to permit
him to pass through. He was gone
only a couple of minutes. In that timc
he had notified Head Keeper COnnaugh-
ton, who was in the condemned cell
room, that the chair was ready for the
first of the condemned men. The
death warrant was not read to the
condemned man in the cell, as was
done in the case of Kemmler. The
warden had said that he did not know
anything in the law requiring him to
read the death warrant. AS a precau-
tionarv measure, he would read it, but
not at the time of the execution
his wish to prevent the other men
knowing that the first man had been
taken from his cell if it was possible to
do so. SO the exit from the cell room
was made as quietly as possible
The prisoners went to the execution
chair bravely, and met their fate with
out struggle. They offered no resist
ance, hut rather assisted the keepers
when they were bound down in the
chair The electrodes were not APP
piled, as in the Kemmler case, on the
top of the skull and the base of
the spine, but were bound to
the foreheads of the condemned
men and to the calves of their legs.
| The current was turned on in each
case for twenty seconds. The voltage
was between 1, 500 and 1000. In each
case there were apparent evidences OF
revival as in the Kelnmler case, and in
each of these four cases the current was
| turned on second time. In spite of
the fact that the sponges were kept con-
stantly wet all of the executed men
were burned by the current, and es
| pecially about the calves of the legs.
| The medical men present agree that
| death came on first contact, and that
| the seeming revival was merely reflex
muscular action. The electrodes We're
| successful, and death in all cases was
| instantaneous and painless
| The entire time consumed in e&ecut-
| ing the four men was an hour and 2315
| minutes Slocum was executed at 4:42
a. m, Smiler at 5:13, Wood at 5:3S and
Jugigo at Cos.
DIR. Alphonse D. Rockwell, the man
who devised the electrode, and who
was one of the three commissioners APP
| pointed to supervise the electrocution,
was the first of the experts to emerge
from the prison. DIR. Rockwell hurried
to the depot to catch an early train to
| New York. He said: 1--WE are pledged
to secrecy; but 1 do not think am
violating that pledge in saying that all
four executions were an unqulifed sue
cess. The men all died painlessly and
without struggle. Further than this
can not speak"
E. A. Brown. purchasing agent of the
state prison, said that there was nc
doubt that the elcctrocutions were alb
solutely painless. THE horse killed III
the final test of the machinery" he
said, 'swas dead before it fell. Its eye
balls were as natural as in life after
death, and this was the condition of the
men put to death. Each walked calmly
to death, and there was not struggle
or hitch at any stage of the proceed
ings. When the current was turned
into a mans body he died so quickly
that it was difficult to realize that dealt
had occurred"
The autopsies, contrary to expecta
ton, were performed by o'clock, ant
the corps of the physicians left the depo
after a short time for New York and AL
bany. DIR. Mcdonald, who conducted the
execution and autopsy. was asked for {
statement He declined to give any
, saving that the results would be givc1
out in Albany in official shape.
All of the witnesses have gone ant
: the prison has returned to its norma
state.
Warden Brown says that all lnforma
r ton will be given out at the office O
the superintendent of prisons in A
1 ! bany.
The bodies of Jugigo, Wood an
y | Slocum will be buried in the potters
e field in quick-lime.
4 Smiler's body will be removed by hi
S wife.
i 1t is said that the warden read tn
: death-warrants to the condemned me
p shortly before midnight in the pre-!
d ence of some of his witnesses. The
l. were certainly not read in the cells c
: in the death chamber. 1t was probabi
:, Just after reading these death warrant
n that Warden Brown told the Unite
Press correspondent at midnight thu
n he had Just come from the cells of til
s condemned men.
a The witnesses of the electrocutio
& signed an agreement that they woul
It not reveal what occurred within tt
1t execution chamber. The warden to
e them that if they refused to sign the
re would not be admitted to the execute
d chamber All of the witnesses Signe
it. 1t is said that the agreement w;
lie drawn up in the office of the attorne
II general at Albany. 1t was suppose
lie to be ironclad.
- Sing Sing Deserted and Local Intere
Dying Out.
~ SING SING, n. Y, July Sing SiI
ie is deserted tonight Almost all of Il
ia witnesses to the execution have gol
ie to their homes and the horde of new
III paper men that decorated the roadw;
Ill in front of the prison for twenty-fo
hours has gone away. The local int
III est in the executions, never very stron
L. has died out almost entirely. L
y" guard about the prison has been l
y moved, and affairs have resumed the