The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1899-03-23
THE EXECUTION OF IRIS. PLACE.

There is a sentiment throughout
this country against capital punish
ment in general, but especially
against the execution Of women. In
some Of the States of the Union
capital punishment has been abolish
ed together. This sentiment against
hanging women is due, perhaps, to
the inherent chivalry Of men and
their tender regard for those Of the
other sex. and perhaps partly be-
cause of the infrequency of any oc-
casion for intiicting the extreme
penalty of the law upon them. 1t is
in these days very seldom that
woman commits murder, and il she
does. conviction seems to be difficult.
In other days, when murder by
poison was common in Europe, wives
who poisoned their husbands net
only suffered capital punishment, but
torture as we'll, and previously to the
present century there was no hest
tation in putting women on perfect
equality with men is this regard.
For number of years the death
penalty has been inflicted in New
York by means of the electric cur
rent. Mrs. Place will be the first
woman to suffer in this manner.
The evidence of the wOman's guilt
seems to be conclusive in the mind
OF the Governor of the State, as we'll
as to the court and jury which tried
her The crime, like many of the
murders committed by women, was
peculiarly atrocious and devoid of
any extenuating circumstances. Mrs.
Place is the second wife OF Brook
Ign man in good circumstances. Her
husband had daughter by former
marriage who was greatly disliked
by her step-mother, presumably be-
cause of her husbands Partially for
this daughter. The woman had a
son, who had been adopted by
strangers when Mrs. Place was very
poor She desired Mr.. Place to take
this son to his home and he refused.
Mrs. Place murdered her step
daughter in most cruel manner, , first
binding her with acid and then
smothering her to death. She then
armed herself with an axe and laid
in wait for her husband. When he
entered the house she struck him a
murderous blow upon the head,
which did not, however, prove fatal.
She then went into her room and
turned on the gas, and was found
partially unconscious, or Stimulating
unconsciousness, by the police.
A strong appeal for Executive
clemency was made to Governor
Roosevelt. 1t was contended that
the woman was insane. But she was
examined, at the direction of the
Governor, by two competent experts
and declared by them to have been
entirely responsible. No one con-
tended that the trial and conviction
were not entirely fair and legal. The
appeal to the Governor was, there
fore, left without other foundation
than the fact that the convict is a
woman. Governor Roosevelt has
decided that he cannot set aside the
judgment of the court upon this
ground because it would, in his
opinion, establish most dangerous
precedent.
In recent years there have been
several cases where murderers have
escaped the gallows because they
were women and apparently for no
other cause. Mrs. Maybrick, an
American woman. was convicted in
England Of the murder of her hus-
band by poison. She was sentenced
to Imprisonment for life. More
recently a Georgia woman, a Mrs.
| Noble, was convicted of most
atrocious murder and sentenced to
death. There was tremendous ap-
peal in her behalf, and the Governor
committed her punishment to i'm
| prisonment. Mrs. Botkin, convicted
| in California of the murder of Mrs.
Dunning and Mrs. Deane in Delaware
by sending poisoned candy to them,
was sentenced by the verdict of the
jury Which convicted her to i'm
prisonment for life instead of to
death. Baltimore Sun.
Mrs. Place has been executed since
the above was put in type. She met
death in the electric chair in Sing
Sing prison at 11:01 o'clock Monday
morning. Death was instantaneous,
but two shocks being given. The
woman went to her death quietly and
there We're no sensational features or
sickening scenes to depict.