The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-07-02
BUCHANAN'S AGONY over
After Hard Struggle for Life He Is
ElectrOcuted.
WHAT THE AUTOPSY REVEALED
The Execution Was Success. and Death
Must Have Been Painless According
10 the Opinion Of the
Examining Physicians.

Sing Sing. July DIR. Robert w. Bu-
chanan. the wife murderer, was cleo
trocuted in the prison yard here this
morning. The witnesses entered at
lib; the current was turned on at
1l.2i at LAO volts for four seconds, re-
duced to 400 volts, left on for thirty sec
onds, when 1t was turned on to LAO
volts again and gradually reduced until
1t was turned off fifty-eight seconds af
ter 1t was first applied. Buchanan en-
tered the room with his eyes closed and
did not open them as he walked along
side the attendant without assistance
to the chair. His leg was slightly
scorched and smoked during the laet
few seconds of the execution. The body
was perfectly motionless after the cur
rent was turned on.
DIR. Buchanan did not retire until 2
o'clock this morning and then he did
not remove his clothes, but he appar.
emily rested somewhat better than the
night before and seemed refreshed and
more cheerful than yesterday when he
awoke at $50 o'clock this morning. At
7.30 o'clock he called for a bowl OF milk,
which has usually convtituted his
breakfast. He saw no one but his
guards until an hour later when War
den Sage entered with tine condemned
mans spiritual adviser. The warden
Informed Buchanan of the tenor Of the
attorney generals dispatch and notified
him that in accordance with the opin
ion of the law department of the state
- h., tn he
sentence Of the court.
Buchanan had apparently prepared
his mind for the news and expressed
no surprise. Warden Sage told him OF
the efforts that Mrs. Buchanan was
making to secure a reprieve or commu-
tation of the sentence from Governor
Morton, but expressed the opinion that
the chances were slight for favorable
result of his entreaties. mo" said
Buchanan, "there Is not much chance
of that" He was calm in spite of his
full appreciation of the situation, but
did not seem to wish to prolong it and
the warden soon withdrew, leaving the
condemned man with his minister and
the guards.
Result Of the Autopsy.
The autopsy disclosed the usual
changes in the condition of the brain
and arterial system. but in q less
marked degree than in other cases of
death by electricity. The arteries were
nearly empty, while the brain contained
free blood in considerable quantities.
AS far as the general examination of
the body was concerned, it showed that
all the organs We're in a normal condi-
ton with the exception of the left lung,
which was badly affected. The most
remarkable feature was the size of the
brain, which weighed but thirty-one
and three-fourths ounces, or less than
three-fourths the average. All the doc
tors agreed after the postmortem eX-
animation that the execution had been
as successful as any which has pre-
ceded 1t in point of painlessness. The
possibility of consciousness after the
application of the current
DR.. Irvine. who has witnessed nearly
all the executions in the state under
the new law said:
"The failure of the first shock to ef-
feet death in this case was in my opin-
lon due principally to the character of
the subject. In the first place. Buchan-
an sat so motionless in the chair before
the current was first applied that it
was impossible to detect his respira-
! tions. No doubt the current struck him
at a moment when his lungs Were filled
with air instead of nearly empty, as
they should have been. This caused
| tilp a nillsinn nf mir a aftpr fh.,
plication of the current and also prob
ably contributed to cause the slight
pulsations which we detected after the
current was turned off. Apart from
this the fact that Buchanan had nerved
himself to resist the shock had much
to do with his tenacity of life.
at Is well known that any one can
stand a heavier electric shock when pre-
pared to resist 1t than when II strikes
him unawares. Buchanan was an edu-
Gated man and fully understood the
punishment which he had to undergo
Therefore he undoubtedly exercised a
greater resistance than an ordinary
man would have done. l have no
doubt. however. that the first shock
destroyed consciousness. and that the
execution was a humane and painless
one"
sympathy for Mrs. Buchanan.
Mrs. Buchanan notified Warden Sage
as soon as the execution was over that
she inteded to claim her husband $
body and give II burial. She said that
she was without funds. but she hoped
TO obtain assistance from friends. The
warden promised to keep the body for
a reasonable time subject to her order,
and showed his practical sympathy by
starting subscription on her behalf.
to which nearly all the officers of the
prison and witnesses of the execution
contributed.
Mrs. Buchanan left for New York at
226 p. m. She was much calmer than
at the time of her arrival this morning.
and warmly expressed her thanks for
the kindness of the warden's family.
Shortly before leaving here she gave
an account of her interview with the
governor. She remained at Rhinecliff
last night and started for Ellersie, the
governors home. at $40 o'clock. In spite
Of the early hour the governor rose
Immediately upon being informed of
her arrival and gave her hearing
lasting an hour and a half. She plead
ed with him on her knees to spare her
husbands life, but the governor, while
expressing the deepest sympathy. said
he could not Interfere again In the
case. He offered her assistance and
asked her to call upon him II she needed
help now or hereafter, which she prom
ised to do.
Gibbons viii Assume Expenses.