The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-04-21
TWO MURDERERSKILLED
WILLIAM HAAS AND WILLIAM WI
LEY ELECTROCUTED IN OHIO.
Put to Death i'm the Penitentiary An
mex Early This MOrning-First
{ Use Of the Electric Chair.

COLUMBUS. o., April Civilian Haas
and William Wiley were executed by cleo
tricity soon after midnight this morning
Haas was the first TO be electrocMed. He
was strapped in the chair at 1921. When
he was brought into the electrocution room
he closely scrutiniZed the chair and was
pushed into 1t. The current was turned on
for period of two seconds, three times in
succession. AS soon as the body of Haas
was taken out of the chair Wiley was
brought in and at 1926 he was strapped in
the chair. Both electrocutions were emil
nently successful. The condemned men
were nervy TO the last
An examination of the bodies after they
had been removed to the prison morgue did
not disclose even the slightest abrasion or
irritation of the skin al the points OF con-
tact, and the physicians and experts pro-
nounced the electrocutions as perfect as It
was possible to make them. The voltage
was 1,I50 in both electrocutions and the
amperage ranged from sly to II.
The electrocutions. which were the first
in Ohio took place in the annex of the
penitentiary, where, for the past thirteen
years. capital punishment has been meted
out to all persons under sentence of death
In the State by hanging. The electrocution
chair and appliances have been in place in
the old execution room for several weeks
They are similar to those used in New YORK.
The electrocution of William Haas was
set for April 3. but owing TO the burning our
OF the armature on the electrocution dyna-
mo the eiectrocution had to be postponed
and Governor Bushnell fixed the date so
that Haas would be electrocuted on the day
set for the electrocution OF WHEY. A new
armature. TO be used only for electrocutions
was secured and the test to-day showed
that IL was fully up to requirements To
prevent any possibility of the armature be-
ms tampered with an extra guard was
placed in the dynamo room. Haas and
Wiley the condemned men. passed the day
in reading and in religious devotions The
death warrants were read to them during
the morning. Haas. who is nineteen years
OF age, had been Indifferent to his fate ever
since his arrival at the annex. The crime
for which Haas was electrocuted was a
most revolving one. He had been employed
and befriended by William Brader. a gar
dener. residing at Cloverdale a suburb of
Cincinnati. On the morning of July 3, 1885,
while Brader was absent in Cincinnati
young Haas criminally assaulted Mrs
Brader who was the only otner occupant
of the house except himself, and then cut
her throat with razor. To cover up the
but some blackberry pickers saw the smoke
issuing from the house in time to prevent
Its burning. Haas was arrested on the
afternoon of the same day at Hamilton
u, and taken To Cincinnati, where by de-
grees confession was secured from him.
Wlllam Wiley murdered his wife on the
west Side OF CINCINNATI twenty days after
Haas committed his crime Wiley was in
sanely Jealous of his wife, and as 1t trans
pired. without cause. After a few years of
unhappy domestic life he came home one
day in drunken fit and shot his wife who
died after being taken to the hospital
Wiley concealed himself in a closet i'm the
house and was wounded i'm a desperate
hght with the officers who arrested him.