Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-05
Two Iu'derers Hanged at the Dis
trict Jail Today.
DROP FROM THE SCAFFOLl TOGETHER
Condemned Men Go Singing From
Cell to GaIIows.
THEIR LAST NIGHT ON EARTH

| William Strather and Charles NJ Win
| ston, colored murderers of women, were
| hanged in the District Jail at 12:07 o'clock
| this afternoon. The double execution took
! place in the presence of the smallest crowd
| OF spectators ever in attendance at hang
! ing in the history of the prison, Warden
| Harris fully observing the law which re-
| stricts the number of spectators at execu-
| ticns in the District to certain physicians.
| clergymen, attorneys and peace officers
| The death penalty was imposed today with
out the slightest hitch, and the physicians
who ottlciated declared that the men died
| painlessly.
1he sentence of the court directed the
warden to execute the men between the
hours OF l. o clock noon and o'clock I. m.
AS the hour of noon was announced War
den Harris proceeded to the large double
cell in which they awaited him AS he
read the death warrants his deputies
plnioned the arms of Strather and Win
Ston behind their backs. This formality
concluded the march to the scaffold be-
gan. Warden Harris leading the way, i'm
mediately followed by the condemned men
and their spiritual advisers. Deputy War
den Russ and several officers of the jail
force brought UP the rear of the little pro-
ceSsion. Emerging from the south wing
of the prison, in which the murderers had
been confined the party passed through a
douDle nle OF policemen, under the COM
mand of Lieutenant Kelly, the prisoners
joining enthusiastically and with unfalter-
ing voices in the singing of the hymn,
Blessed Assurance" During the passage
through the rotunda Strather, recognizing
Policeman Cooper, who placed him under
arrest soon after the murder of Rosa Tai
bot, remarked: How do you do, Mr..
Cooper"
March Calmly and Steadily.
The jury of twelve men, composed of To-
cal newspaper reporters, the physician of
the Jail and a number of physicians and
medical students whom he had invited to
witness the execution, had preceded the
warden and the condemned men to the
| northeast corridor of the prison, where the
scaffold stood. 1t was just four minutes
after T. O'Clock when the procession of
death appeared at the steps leading from
the rotunda down to the corridor. Each of
the murderers marched to the scaffold
| calmly and as steadily as if liberty, and
not an tgn0bie death, awaited them, and,
still singing. with the ministers, the old
familiar hymn, they made their way down
the long corridor and up the steps of the
The moment the prisoners reached the
platform they We're placed in position
the trap, facing the small crowd of specta-
tors, Winston standing to the right of
Strather. Once in position, the deputies
quickly adjusted straps around their legs
at the ankles and at the knees, and slipped
the noosed ends of the ropes around their
neckS. While this was taking place, and
While the condemned men. who never for
a moment showed the slightest sign of
fear, continued the singing of the hymn,
the Rev. Mr. Wortham began reading the
23d PSlam. The Lord is my shepherd.
The Signal Given.
The nooses were adjusted the black caps
were drawn over the heads of the murder
ers, and then. before any one present but
-l,a Of ions tn
the unseen executioner was given, and, still
singing, the two wretches plunged down
ward into eternity. The drop fell at eX-
actly 1901 o'clock just three minutes after
the condemned appeared in the corridor,
and within seven minutes after Warden
Harris started to their cell 10 announce
that their last hour had approached
For a moment the bodies hung perfectly
still and then Winston a small, light man,
who had for that reason been given much
longer drop than his companion, commenc-
ed to draw up his legs. This continued for
about three minutes. but the physicians de
clared that the movements were merely
reflex Strather, however, never moved
after the fall was completed, his neck,
in the opinion of the physicians, baing
broken, while. they stated, Winston was
dying of stranSulation. Three minutes after
the trap was sprung the bodies were lower
ed somewhat, in order to allow the phySi-
clans to examine the movements of the
heart and pulse. Before this took place
the Rev Mr. Roberts and the Rev. Mr.
Wortham prayed that the dying men might
find full forgiveness and that their death
might be such an example as would cause
others to live upright lives and fear God.
Despite the fact that Strather never
moved after the fall of the drop. both his
pulse and heart continued to beat Tor an
unusually long period, and he was the last
to be declared dead His pulse was pro-
nounced motionless at 12:l9 o'clock and
his heart five minutes later h being at
that moment dead. Winston, however, died
two minutes before his associate on the
scaffold, being declared dead at l2:22
o clock.
Placed in Cofiins.
The bodies were permitted to hang until
l2:44 o'clock, thirty-seven minutes after
the drop fell. Then they were cut down
and placed in plain, stained pine coff1ns.
The bodies We're carefully examined after
being placed in the collins, and, much TO
the astonishment of the physicians. it was
discovered that the neck of Winston had
been broken, and that he had not died of
stranguation. There was. on the other
hand, after further examination, some
doubt as to whether Strather's neck had
been broken. 1t was again declared by
the physicians. however, that both men
died a painless death, Strather probably
expiring from shock.
Warden Harris heartily congratu-
lated upon the entire success of his first
execution, and also upon the fact that he
had strictly obeyed the law prohibiting un-
usual attendance, not more than twenty
passes, including those given the local
newspaper men, having been issued by him.
1t was in the opinion of those well in
formed in such matters, the most orderly
and dignified imposition of the death pen
atty in the history of the prison. a great
crowd of peope, mostly colored, stood
the commons about the jail. but there was
no disorder among them, and the large
force of policemen had nothing to do but
look on.
Funeral Sunday Afternoon.
AS soon as the lids of the coftius contain