The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1901-11-01

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swung open the big steel door leading
TO the condemned cells, and as the
steel bars behind which Czolgosz had
been kept were swung aside two
guards marched the prisoner out into
the corridor. two others following,
| and the chief keeper walking in front.
No Time Wasted.
1t was just exactly I'LL o'clock
when he crossed the Threshold. but
minute had elapsed and he had Just
finished the last statement when tho
strapping was completed and the
guards stepped oack. Warden Mead
raised his hand and at 7:12: 30 Electri-
elan Davis turned the switch that
threw 1.700 volts of electricity into
The living body.
The rush of the current threw the
body so hard against the straps that
hey creaked perceptibly. The hands
cilnched suddenly and the whole at
tltude was one Oh extreme tenseness
For 45 seconds the full current was
Kept on and then slowly the electri-
elan threw the switch back, reducing
the current volt by volt until it was
cut off entirely. Then just as it had
reached that point, he threw the lever
back again for two or three seconds.
The body which had collapsed as the
current was reduced. stiffened up
again against the straps.
Just>tO Make Sure.
When it was turned off again, Dr.
Macdonald stepped to the chair and
| put his hand over the heart He said
| he felt no pulsation, but suggested
| that the current be turned on for
Few seconds again. Once more the
body became ragid. At 7:15 the cur
rent was turned off for good
From the time Czolgosz had left
his cell until the full penalty was
| paid, less than four minutes had
elapsed. The physicians present used
the stethoscopc and other tests to de-
termine if any life remained. and at
7:17 the warden, raising his hand an
! nounced:
"The Prisoner Is Dead"
Gentlemen, the prisoner is dead"
The witnesses filed from the cham
Der, many of them visibly affected,
and the body was taken from the
chair and laid on the operating ta-
| bic.
When the body of Czolgosz had been
removed from the room where he was
killed to the autopsy table, Auburn
prison returned to the routine of its
ordinary life. The prisoners, who
had been kept locked in their cells
were released at 7:45 o'clock and
prison work was resumed at once.
| There was no excitement among the
| cOnvicts
Supt. Collins Statement.
Prison superintendent Collins made
the following statement:
! Just consider that within about six
weeks from the death of his distin-
| guished victim, Czolgosz was regu-
| larly tried, convicted, sentenced and
executed, and this despite the fact
| that the law compelled us to give nun
| four weeks to prepare for death. All
has been done in a dignified way,
! and the greatest credit is due to
| Warden Mead for the care he has
taken to strip the case of sensational
ism. The execution was one of the
most successful ever conducted in the
state.
Extraordinary Care Taken.
Extraordinary care had to be taken
in the case, because both the warden
and | received hundreds of threaten
ing letters, many of them asserting
in violent and Incorporate language
| that the prisoner would never be put
in the chair. | have decided, for the
present, that we will not destroy any
OF the hundreds of letters written to
Czolgosz, the warden and myself as
to the case. Eventually they will be
| destroyed, but it has struck me that.
! perhaps, we should make a list of
them, especially of those letters
signed with full and proper names, in
which coincidence was offered to the
prisoner, or threats against us were
made. My plan is to- get the addresses
of these people, and keep list for
police reference. | believe that there
may come time when such list
would be valuable in running down
anarchists.
Electrician Davis Statement
Electrician Davis made this state
ment as to the executions
Il used 1,700 volts of electricity.
turning it into the body at full volt
age for seven seconds, and then slow
ly reducing it for As seconds. Then |
threw the full voltage on again for
eight seconds. Then, at the sugges-
tion of DR.. Macdonald, | turned it on
again for a few seconds. | did not
think there was any necessity for the
third contact, and the lack of resist
ance shown when it was administered
proved that life was extinct. The
body showed eight amperes of resist
ance. That is little more than
would be given by larger or stouter
man, where the current could have
more chance TO percolate. 1t was as
successful an execution as | have ever
operated at in all my experience"
Chaplain Wasn't Needed.