The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-12-30
BENJAMIN R. WILLIS HANGED
YOUNG MIN JyHO MURDERED HIS
 OLD SCH0OLMASTER.
His Perfect Goodness Enabled the Of ficials to Make a Good Job of the Hanging-On Seventeen Seconds to do the Work-Life Extinct Eight Min- utes After Drop Fell.

Wethersfield, Conn.,, Dec. 30.-Benja- min R. Willis, aged twenty three, was hanged at the state prison this morn ing. The automatic gallows worked perfectly. Willis is the seventh man to be hanged in this way. The drop fell at 1920, and eight minutes later the at tending physicians pronounced life ex- tinct. Willis weighed ITO pounds, and the force of the blow was equal to 1,295 pounds. According to the courts de- cree Willis was to be hanged December 30 between midnight and sunrise, and exactly at 12:O1 Warden Woodbridge, Deputy Warden Baisden, Prison Direc- tors Wells and Burr, Chaplain Hall, pr. Thayer, the prison physician, and pr. J. E. Root of Hartford were at the. death cage, and Warden Woodbridge read the death warrant. In the early part of his last night on earth Willis was in highly nervous state, but Chaplain Hall, who spent the last few hours with him, succeeded in calming him. After the warrant had been read the party returned to the wardens of flee, when second procession was formed, the first division consisting of those who had attended the reading of the warrant, while behind them were Assistant Deputy Perkins, Officer Edg-s ett and nine reporters.
 The first party passed into the cage while the other section of the process sion filed directly into the execution room. After the warden had bade the prisoner goodbye Deputy Baisden and Officer Edgett strapped his wrists and elbows. As soon as Willis stepped upon the plate Deputy Baisden adjusted the cap, Officer Edgett adjusted the straps, the doctors attended to the proper are engagement of the moose, while Assistant Deputy Perkins grasped him firmly by the shoulders to prevent him from fall- ing, though he needed no assistance from any nervous collapse. As soon as Willis stepped upon the plate the dial hand began to revolve and it had mark ed but seventeen seconds when the warden pressed the lever and the body shot into the air. breaking the neck and causing almost instant death. Eight minutes later life was pronounced ex- tinct. The time of seventeen seconds from the time the doomed man stepped ron the plate to the time the drop fell was the fastest that has been made since the introduction of the automatic gallows and was owing to Willis cool ness, so that he did not hamper the off, cers in the slightest degree in their pre- liminary work.
 Willis was not informed until Wed- nesday of the time of his execution,
 and when the fact was told him he showed no more emotion than usual. During his confinement in prison lie gained fifteen pounds. He preserved his stoic demeanor throughout the en-
 tire day yesterday but last night he was somewhat nervous for time A
 telegram was given to him after sup per which came from his mother, and that added somewhat to his nervous ness. The contents of the message Warden Woodbridge did not think it was proper to disclose but he said it was a kind motherly message and one that left it's visible impress on the young man. Mrs. Willis had been in Hartford until about four weeks ago, availing herself of every opportunity to see her son, but finally she could not withstand the strain and is now critic ally ill in a New York hospital. She has grieved so much over her sons wrong doing that it is thought she will die of a broken heart Willis murdered David s. R. Lambert of Wilton, his former teacher, December 27, 1898, af- ter having robbed his house. Though he was the youngest person ever exc cuted in the prison the brutality of his crime was so abhorrent that little sym pathy was felt for him. In speaking of him Warden Woodbridge always refer red to him as moral degenerate.