Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-08
NE T DEATH BRAVELY
Durrant Dies With Forgiveness
on the Gallows.
He Became Catholic at the Last Mo-
ment, Though Brought Up Baptist
Father Sees Execution.

San Quentin, Cal, Jan. when Will
liam Henry Theodore Durrant died on
the gallows this morning for the muir
der of Blanche Lamont, he gave an eX-
hibition Of GOODNESS and nerve such as
has seldom been seen under similar cir
cumstances. Hopeful, almost to the very
last minute, that something would inter-
vene to save him, he walked to the scat
fold, and made speech protesting his
innocence as caInly and with as distinct
enunciation as if he had been addressing
! an assemblage of friends upon some or
binary topic. His face was pale, his
/ eyes red, but his voice was firm, and
! he stood as solid as a rock while he
proclaimed his innocence and professed
forgiveness to those who, he said, had
4 bounded him to death. There was not a
hitch or accident to mar the plans Of
carrying out the sentence. The neck
was broken by the fall of five feet and
fifteen minutes later the murderePs
i body was cut down and placed in the
+ coffin. In spite of the exciting events
of last night. when Durrant was be-
/ sieged by newspaper reporters and
/ talked to his parents unity 11.30 p. M.
shortly after 6 o'clock he awoke and
bade his guards good morning.
Warden Hale had provided a new suit
! of dark material, and these clothes Dur
rant quickly donned. He noticed the
absence of collar and necktie, however,
and knowing full well the reason for
their omission, he asked for them. Then
he sat down to breakfast and ate heart
lily
l
( Tossing religion. But he died, accepting
at the last moment the comforts of the
Catholic Church, instead of those of the
Baptist faith, in which he was reared.
Rev Mr.. RAIDER a. Protestant minister,
had arranged to ascend the scaffold
with Durrant, but the minister would
not say that he thought Durrant limo
cent, and the condemned man declined
to accept his services unless RAIDER pro-
fessed belief in his innocence Then it
was that the once ardent Baptist turned
to the Catholic Church for consolation,
and called upon Father Lagan, a priest,
VINO had frequently visited him In pris-
on, to attend him. Father I,agan re-
sponded, and performed the last rites of
the church. AS the hour for the execu-
ton approached, the prisoner became
somewhat restless. His father and
mother were admitted to bid him a. bast
his son by the hand, and the young man
then turned to comfort his mother, who
cried historically Durrant embraced
> ner tenderly, and saying: ''The hour ha
come for us to part" put her gently
l away. The grief-stricken mother was
red away to a private room, where she
remained until after the execution. The
rather, however, went to he execution
room; and, supported by two friends
4 saw his son meet death.
Warden Hale allowed all nossi1,le
, time for the supreme court at Washing
!. ton 70 take some acton. Finally. when
4 word was flashed over the wires that
: the court declined to Interfere. the war
e den ordered the program to be carried
out At 1914 o'clock Durrant, accom-
:. panied by Father Lagan. appeared q
$ the door of the execution room. He
!, was followed by mis- father, a friend.
2 the warden and the guards The father
t and his friend walked around the gal
: lows to the front. while Durrant and his
Z keepers climbed to the gallows plat
: form Instantly on arriving at the gal
: lows, Durrant's legs and arms were
| pinioned, and the rope was placed
about his neck. The hangman was
about to adjust the black cap when
Durrant announced mis- desire to speak.
Permission was given and the doomed
murderer made a brief speech, protest.
ing his innocence.
/ Not a sound could be heard except the
even tones Of the man about to die.
Durrant had scarcely ceased spaakin o
. when the black cap was placed over his
) face. At the same instant the trap was
} sprung, and DuTrant's body shot
: through the opening. The crowd slrrged
forward but the warden warned them
to keep back. The doctors were how
ever permitted 10 go forward, where
they felt the pulse, and finally decided
that Durrant was dead.
: In just II minutes, 2S seconds. all
signs of life had vanished. The body
was allowed to hang for 10 minutes
when it was cut down and placed in a
! black coffin. 1t is not yet known what
/ disposition of the body would be made.
as Durrants parents have been 50 far
unable to secure permission to inter the
body in any of the local cemeteries. 1t
is very probable that the body will be
cremated.
: After the body had been taken down
Durrant senior. went Immediately to
his wife, who was awaiting in one of
the guard rocns, and, together, they
accompanied the body of their son to
San Francisco.
Durrant's most urgent request to the
warden was that no autopsy be held on
his body. The prisoners medical train
ing seemed to have imbued him with a
horror Of the surgical treatment of
corpses, and he vowed that no knife
should ever touch his flesh. He also re-
quested that the rope with which he
was hanged be burned His wishes in
both respects were observed by the
I warden.
Il Eight other murderers are confined in
San Quentin whose fate depends on the
success of efforts made by Durrant's at
torney in his behalf. They were all
prepared to follow the same tactics for
delay, but now that the courts have
shown that it is possible to hang a MUIR
derer in California, they have given up
4 hope
i THE FACTS OF DURRANT"S CRIME.
! Durrant and Miss Blanche Lamont as
well as Miss Minnie Williams whom he
is also thought to have murdered, were
members Of the Emmanuel Baptist
Church in San Francisco, where the
bodies of the two girls were found The
murderer acted as assistant superin-
tendent of the Sunday school of the
/ church.. AT the same time he was
| studying medicine.
The murder of Miss Lamont, who was
1 attending tae girls high school about
four miles from her aunt's home and
! the church, was committed April 3, 1895
On that evening the girl did not return
| from school, and not until nine days
afterward was it learned what had be-
come of her.
Detectives searching the church found
| the door leading 10 the steeple of the
church locked and the handle broken
1 Off They forced in the door and there
+ discovered Blanche Lamonts body,
stripped of clothing and laid out as il
4 ready for burial The theory was that
she had been choked to death, probably
/ in sfNn1a nther nart of the chnreh and