The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1894-06-21
Carpenter Pays the Penalty.
He Dies in the MiffIintown Jail Yard
Protesting His Innocence.

On last Thursday morning at TO-
81, Sheriff Lapp of Juniata county
kicked the bar and dropped the
platform of the scailold on which
Jas. B. Carpenter stood with a rope
around his neck. 1t was the day of
retribution for the murderer of a
blind father, instigated in his dia-
bolical purpose only by the greed
and avarice of his heart. The hang
ing was done successfully. Only a
few twitches in the suspended body
were noticed. The spinal column
was not broken and death was caus-
ed by strangling. The body was
taken from the 9 y 30 minutes
later. A few minutes before the
execution, Sheriff Lapp accompan-
led by the murderer, his religious
advisers and the SherifiTs deputies
filed into the Jail yard. The mur,
derer was cleanly shaved with his
mustache waxed and nicely curled
He was dressed in new Prince
Albert suit and wore neat blue
necktie and slippers. The murderer
was handsome looking fellow and
as he stepped upon the platform, he
made polite bow and delivered his
speech with as much audacity as
any youth could who was delivering
his commencement Grafton, with the
expectation of receiving his diploma
He was entirely unaffected and man,
| ifested an enormous amount of nerve
The affair seemed to be n common
place occurrence for him and not un,
til the deputies began buckling OF
the straps did the murderer show
any signs of nervousness. The
Sheriff kept his back turned to tn,
victim while he was being prepared
for the final plunge. This ofiicia
turned only long enough to kick th,
bar which suspended the murderer
in mid-air. We give below a yer.
batim copy of the murderer's speech
to which Jas. b. Carpenter signed
his name before he was executed.
HIS SPEECH.
"GENTIEMEN.-This is the last
chance / will have to speak upon this
earth. Within a brief moment, ]
will have passed away from you and
the trials and tribulations of this life.
At this most solemn moment to me,
/ wish to first say that | bear no i'll
| feeling to any one living. Those
who have sinned against me, / free
ly forgive as believe my Heavenly
Father has forgiven me for the sins
of my existence. And as L stand
here in the presence of death and
eternity, l say to you and all the
world that neither / nor my beloved
mother are guilty of the murder of
my father. i know the chain of Cir
cumstances was perhaps without a
parallel in the whole history of crime.
And when my lifeless body hangs
between earth and the great sky
above us, know you all and all the
world that / die innocently, the fat
ed victim of circumstaptial evidence
perhaps too powerful to raise a sus-
picion of my guiltlessness.
"To the Jury who convicted me,
to the Honorable Court which pre-
sided at my trial, to the District At
torney who ably aud without malice
conducted my prosecution, / wish
to say that die without reflection
upon you. To my kind religious ad-
visers and to my friend Sheriff Lapp
who has treated me so kindly
through the trying days OF my i'm
prisonmet, / offer the thanks OF my
heart so soon to beat no more for
ever Lastly, to my beloved moth
or, now so far from me, who is