Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-08
O'NEIL HANGED
Murderer Of Mrs. McCloud Meets
His Punishment.
The Condemned Man Said But a Few
Words on the scaffoId-Protested
His Innocence.

Greenfield, Jan. John O'Neil, Jr,
who last July was found guilty of
the murder of Mrs. Hattie Evelyn Nc
Cloud, in Shelburne Falls, on Jan. s,
1897, and sentenced to death, was
hanged in the Franklin county Jail this
forenoon. The drop fell az 1914 o'clock,
and the execution was accomplished
without accident or any unexpected in
cident. save, possibly, the pitiable con-
dition of the condemned man, who
seemed well-nigh helpless, and in need
of much assistance from the officials
who attended him.
After the body of O'Neil nad been re-
moved from the jail, Turnkey Richard
son gave to one of the newspaper men
present a sealed letter, which the muir
derer wrote at $50 O'clock this morning.
The missive was addressed TO William
O'Connell, the "circus man. and it is
supposed to be an answer to the ques-
ton persistently asked If O'Neil by
O'Connell, as to where they drank to-
gether, as alleged by O'Neil, on the
night of the murder
For the past day or two O'Neil had
been somewhat nervous, but that was
not wondered at, when it was recalled
that he had been confined in jail for
nearly a year, had had Little exercise,
had smoked tobacco for several days
almost constantly and had taken sew
era9 cups of coffee with each of his
meals. He retired late, last night, and
previous to retiring talked very freely
with his death guard, Deputy Sheriff
Edison ]. Pratt of Millers Falls. He
talked on several topics, but his mind
invariably ran back to the crime for
which he had been sentenced to death,
and he protested vigorously and en-
phatically that he was innocent
Following the directions of his spir-
itual adviser, Rev. William T. Sherry,
the curate of Holy Trinity Church,
O'Neil endeavored to fix his mind on
things of the next world, and he ex-
tended his forgiveness to those who, he
thought, had wronged him, with a sin
gle exception. That exception was Will
liam O'Connell of Shelburnc Falls, the
so-called 'eircus man. O'Neil had
stated repeatedly that he took a drink
with O'Connell at $50 o'clock on the
night of the murder, but he declined
to go into particulars as to where the
drink was taken. O'Connell, who was
detained as a witness in the Jail for
months, has denied emphatically that
he saw O'Neil that night after O'Clock,
and has complained that he has been
unable to get work because of the sus-
picions that O'Neil has cast upon him.
This is the only one whom O'Neil did
not forgive. To the very last the pris-
oner insisted that he was innocent and
said that he desired to see O'Connen
tried for the crime. When Q,Nen, In. one
OF mis- closing statements was asked to
explain how money of the same de-
finn a c hof IN,
carried by Mrs. McCloud came into his
| possession, he said that it must have
been placed in the pocket of his ulster
when he was drunk
| O'Neil was shaved last night, and re-
! tired late and slept about three hours
only. A substantial breakfast was
served to him this morning, but he was
unable to eat much, and appeared very
( nervous. Then he dressed himself with
! unusual care, in the suit of clothes that
was made for him shortly before the
trial. After breakfast, O'NeiI took a
smoke, and constantly declared that he
was an innocent man. He said good
bye to the officers and expressed his
thanks to them for their kindness. He
said that he would "go through this
like man" His spiritual adviser Rev,
William T. Sherry, who has attended
him so devotedly since his conviction,
| then visited O'Neil. With Father Sher-
ry was Rev Alfred Balthazard, the rec
tor of st. Joseph's Church of Shelburne
Falls. They were left alone with the
condemned man in his cell, and adminis-
tered to him the final rites Of the Ro-
man Catholic Church
High Sheriff Isaac Chenery then en-
tered the cell, and before the straps
that were to hold his arms in place on
the gallows were adjusted, read to him
the death warrant AS soon as the
straps were placed in position, the
/ procession was formed to go to the gal
lows. First in place was High Sheriff
Chenery; then came the two clergynen
who previously had been with O'Neil;
then Deputy Sheriffs Fowler and Rich
ardson; following them came O'Neil,
supported by Deputies Haskins and
Pratt, and in the rear were Deputies
Bridges and Davis.
AS O'Neil stepped from the cell, he
said to the deputies: Gentlemen, this
| is hard
The prisoner was visibly nervous
and seemed to need considerable as
sistance. 1t was just one minute after
they left the cell, when the procession
entered the guard-room.
| O'NeiPs nervous condition was par
| ticularly noticeable as he assembled the
stairs leading to the scaffold, when he
weakened yisibly and seemed to miss
his footing on one of the steps, falling
back to the next one. He quickly re-
| covered, however, and resumed his
walk upward. AS he reached the floor
of the scaffold, and was assisted to the
special floor on which he was to stand
! and meet his death, he again lost con-
| troll of himself and it seemed that all
his strength had left him. One Of the
deputies was compelled to hold him up
while preparations were being made for
HI
such as to Indicate that without the
officers assistance, he surely would
have fallen. The straps were soon adj
| justed, however, and Rev. FIR. Sherry,
standing directly in front of O'Neil, re-
cited the prayer for the dead. Be
tween O'Neil and the clergyman was a
small cross.
After this prayer, Sheriff Chenery,
wearing a high hat and carrying his
mace of Office, said to the prisoner:
"John O'Neil, in obedience to the COM
mand of the superior court of this
commonwealth, and on the authority
of this warrant, to me directed, which
has been read to you, it now be-
comes my official duty to carry out
upon you. Have you any statement to
make?'
O'Nen replied: Il am innocent I for
give all who have injured me, and may
God have mercy on my soul"
The words were spoken in low voice,
and could not be heard distinctly by
the spectators in the rear of the room
Up to this time the man had refused to
forgive William O'Connell.
Additional straps were then placed
about his arms, near the shoulders, and
also near his ankles While Deputy
! Sheriff Fowler drew down over his
head the black cap The moose was
1 f1,n xxsa fNnra
| Sheriff Richardson, and the drop fell
| i,,rt f,rn rnnin11tas after the rn1.ianr1ar and