Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-08
HANGED FOR ASSAULT.
Execution Of James Thoroughgood at Dover.
Dol. Yesterday.


Dcl.. Yesterday.
James Thorough good. eolored, wss hanged in
the Jail at Dover, Del, yesterday afternoon FOR
an assault upon an eight-yesr-old colorcd child.
Thoroughbred was led from his cell moaning
and shouting, and leaning heavily on the arms
Of his spiritual advisers. Rev. DIS. Gibson and
Jackson. He was scarcely able to walk to the
scaffold. Rector Gibson read the service for
the dead, but his voice was drowned in Thor
oughgoods piteous appeals TO heaven. A he
walked he kept his eyes straight above him,
shouting, "Glory to Godv'
He was assisted up the steps Of the scaffold,
averting his eyes from the moose. After every
Jackson asked, "Did you do lyon know what
mean The negro, on the verge OF eternity,
replied, Il am not guilty" Just xs the black
cap was drawn over his head. Thoroughbred
shouted: Il am not guilty. thank God. and ~
stand here on the scaffold declare to God
nave never done injury to man or woman hv-
ing God have mercy on my soul"
Scarcely had the words died away when the
hatchet fell, and as the doomed man shot
through the trap there were some muscular
contortons, but his neck was broken, and he
was pronounced dead in six and n half minutes.
and cut down in fifteen minutes. The hang
ing was witnessed only by the jurymen. the
legal witnesses and the press represen tatives.
ihoroughgoods victim. little Louisa Hufhng-
ton. came IN from Viola with her mother dur
ing the morning, but could not be induced TO
enter the Jail, though efforts were made to get
her to confront Thoroughbred. When she
came near enough to hear his voice she became
so terror stricken that it was necessary to re-
move her.
THoRoUoHGoop's CRIME.
James Thoroughbred was a full-blooded
negro, twenty-six years old, a native OF Milford
and had lived IN that neighborhood all his life.
He married three years ago, and his wife and
their one child, - boy Of two years, live in Mid.
dletown. He had steadfastly denied that he was
guilty OF the crime for which he was executed,
declaring that he was Mt Greenwood about
about twenty miles away. when the crime wat
committed. This was on Sunday morning, the
18th OF January. William Buff ngton. colored
man living near Viola. sent his eight.
!ear-old daughter into that village on
intercepted by Thoroughbred, who carried
her into the woods and assaulted her. The as.
sault was characterized by unprintable bru.
tality, which made it questionable for several
days whether the little girl would live or die
She was conscious when found and her injuries
came near resulting fatally. As the
assault became known the whole neighborhood
turned out to hunt down the perpetrator
thoroughbred was captured at Harrington and
after being saved from a threatened lynchinR
was locked up IN Dover jail. Here, when his
victim had sufficiently recovered TO stand
the journey to Dover. he was identified
by her and the Identification was supple
mented By strong circumstantial evidence.
Thoroughbred was tried at the April term and
convicted, after his counsel had labored in
effectnaily to get the jury panels quashed on
the plea that negroes were Disseminated
against as such in making up the panels. This
plea was negatived by the unanimous testimony
of the levy court commissioners. both demo
Gratis and republicans who swore they simply
never thought Of negroes in making up the
grand and petit jury panels. Shortly after hi.
trial and sentence Thoroughbred made an at
tempt to break Jail, but was discovered before
he had succeeded in breaking through the wall
of his cell