Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1892-12-17
FOUR MEN HANGED.
A Quardruple Execution In the Jailyard
nj Louisville, Ky.

A Quardrupie Execution In the Jaiiyard
nt Louisville, Ky.
LOUISVILLE, KY, Dec. 10 AT sunrise
Friday Dennis Mccarthy and Stephen
Hite (white) and Grant Thomas and
Nelson Lewis (colored) were hanged in
the Jail yard for murder. This is the
first quadruple hangingin this state.
Before going to the scaffold Thomas
said to his minister: II am an innocent
nan and God will punish those who
swore my life away" Neither of the
condemned men made any statement
on the scaffold,
At 7:45 o'clock the four condemned
men entered the yard of the Jail and
saw for the first time the scaffold
where death awaited them. Up the
steps of the scaffold they marched,
Hite leading. He walked firmly across
beneath the moose to the west, Nc
Car3hy next to him, Thomas next and
Lewis under the moose to the east All
but Thomas stood with bowed heads.
He looked about at the crowd and
bowed to men he knew in the crowd
and at the windows of the Jail.
The deputies arranged the nooses and
pinioned the men at 7:46 o'clock. Hite,
while being pinioned, kicked off the
slippers he wore. The priests talked
continually to Hite and Mccarthy and
the colored ministers spoke occasional
ly to Thomas and Lewis. Thomas
glanced curiously at the rope and beam
above him.
At 7:47 o'clock the cap was adjusted
over McCarthy's head and then quickly
over the others. Not one spoke. The
| moose was then adjusted on Hite,
Thomas Mccarthy and lastly on Lewis
| at TAO. All stood firm. Mccarthy
yawned as the moose was adjusted.
At 1854 the drop fell. Hite struggled
| from the first Grant Thomas arm
| convulsively. Lewis hung limp.
AT 1856 Lewis had not moved and to
all appearances his neck had been
broken by the drop. The struggles oi
the others grew less. At 7:57 the doctors
found Lewis pulse 12s, but it quickly
fell to ~. Grant Thomas pulse was
100; Hite's was A. McCarthy's pulse a
1853 was 9s. At 1850 Grant Thomas
pulse half q minute later was imper
| ceptible. At the same moment Hite':
pulse could not be counted. AT
| o'clock Thomas was the only living
man. His pulse was 60. A faint beat
ing of their hearts could be detected
for several minutes, but at S:09lt
o'clock all were pronounced dead.
! When Dennis Mccarthy shot his wife &
| death on the evening of September Z, 1891, h
also took the life of his unborn babe Nc
Carthy was a drunkard and his wife wa
| forced to support herself and children
Four months before the murder he accuse
his wife OF infdelity and after beating he
| deserted his family and went 10 st. Louis
There he remained q few months, when h
wrote letter saying he was coming home t
kill her. Reaching the city, he went straigh
to his home, kissed his wife in greeting her, an
took his little boy for walk. He returue
alone. Three flashes from pistol and Denni
Mccarthy uxoricide,
Stephen Hite suffered death for crime con
mitted while drunk. His victim, Albert Baul
man. and Hite first met in saloon on th
night OF September 20, 1891. They had severa
drinks together, when quarrel arose and Hit
was elected from the saloon. He waited ou
side, and Baurman appeared snatched
cane from his hand and struck him with /
Baurman recovered the stick and Hite drew
knife and plunged it into Bnurman's heart.
| Grant Thomas hanged upon purely ci
cumstantial evidence. Birdie Coleman wa
found stranged TO death on the morl
ing of February last. Thomas, who ha
known her from childhood, was seen
enter her house half hour before IL
crime committed land leave it fe
moments before it was discovered He VIZ
but youth his victim but girl, although
wife. They were known to have quarreled, b,
twas some time before the tragedy. Whe
arrested he protested his innocence, but W;
unable to prove an alibi, was tried and sen
erced to death
A boy called Nelson Lewis a "chnch bug
and he shot him to death They WEI
negroes, and met at a dance on the night
November 2s, 1891. Lewis had been slightt
by the black damsels and formed
grudge against George Dean, youth
Id AS the latter left the ballroom Lew
called to him to wait, but Dean replied that
had no time TO waste on chnch bugs. Pullil
q pistol, Lewis coolly rested his arm on Il
shoulder Of one of the women, fired and De;
was u corpse.