The Savannah morning news., 1903-10-02
in ELECTRIC CHAIR
THREE VAN wORMER BROTHERS
PAY PENALTY OF MURDER.
WITHIN FIFTEEN MINUTES
EACH IN TURN, ACCORDING TO
AGE, YIELDED HIS LIFE.

Brave. Boys" the Parting Words
of the Eldest to the Other Two.
Priests Administered Consolation
to the END and Accompanied the
Doomed Men to Death CelI-Crime
for which They Suffered Murder
of an Uncle.
Dannemora, N. Y, Oct. Without
one unforeseen incident to mar tthe
perfect and dignified execution of the
death penalty imposed by the trial
court. sustained by the Court of APP
| lpeals. and not interfened with by
Gov. Odell, Willis, Frederick and Bur-
ton Van Wormer were put to death
in fifteen and bne-half minutes at
| Clinton prison to-day for the murder
of their uncle, Peter A. Hallenbeck, at,
Greendale, Columbia county, on
Christmas Eve, 1901.
| There was not one sensational cir
cumstance connected with the execu-
ton. The men walked from the doors
of their cells in the care of their priest
and thanked on either side by prison
| deputies with calm demeanor but ex-
treme pallor.
Father Belanger, picturesque
white haired figure, not in the robes of
frock coat of clerical cut, with little
purple stole about the shoulders, walk
ed along with each of the condemned
men in turn, saying words of consola-
| ton.
Prayed During Execution.
During the first execution, Father
Charbonneau remained in the corridor
between the death cells, reading pray
ers and invocations to the remaining
Van Wormers. Every precaution had
been taken to prevent the remaining
| from hearing more than the departure
| of their brother from the room. The
doors had been padded and the inter-
stices stuffed with cotton so that the
steps of those who removed the life
less body from the death chamber to
the morgue could not be heard.
Three applications of the current and
four minutes time were required for
| the execution of Willis but only two
applications of the full current were
deemed necessary in the case of Fred
erick and two minutes from the time
he crossed the threshold of the room,
the doctors pronounced him dead.
The bodies were carried out into the
| prison morgue, the summons for the
last brotrer, was taken back by the
guards. Father Belanger went with
them. and when Burton Van Wormer
was brought into the presence of death,
he was accompanied by two priests,
| Father Charbonneau having no further
| need to remain in the cell room.
| with Enclosed Eyes Met Death.
Either Burton was taller than his
brothers, or sat up straighter in the
| chair, for the strap which is intended
| to cover the eyes did not reach high
enough to blindfold him, as the cur
! rent was switched on he was still look
| ing over the upperaedge of the strap
| toward the priest. He was killed even
more quickly than the other two Only
one application of the current was re-
| CURED, though il was retained slightly
longer at full pressure than in the 9TH
| er cases.
| In the case of Willis, the current was
| on in the three contacts for sixty Sec
onds; in that of Fred, with two con-
facts, one minute and five seconds: in
that of Burton, with but one contact,
one minute and thirteen seconds, so
| that the actual time consumed in exc
! cutting the three men was five minutes
| and fifty-four seconds.
Father Belanger said after the exc
| cution that the last hours OF the men
| were spent in exceeding quiet with
| the strictest attention to the spiritual
interests which were their sole con-
Germ.
All Organs Normal.
The autopsy upon all three of the
| boys showed nothing unusual. In each
! case the condition of the brain, heart
! and other organs was absolutely nor
rial.
! Keeper Murphy awakened the young
men shortly after o'clock this morn
| ing. They were little dazed at first,
sound sleep in the later hours hav-
| ing followed the restlessness after
| midnight, but almost Immediately they
were awake to a full realization Of
| the fact that this was their last day.
Their new clothing was ready for
| them and they at once clothed them
| selves in the garb they would wear at
| the execution-a gray flannel shirt, and
| dark trousers, each with the right leg
slit to the knee, to allow the attach
| ment of the lower electrode.
They took no breakfast, in accordance
with the Catholic requirement to come
| fasting to their communion, which
| Fathers Charbonneau and Belanger ad-
ministered to them later. They said
that they would not eat again, so
| that their meal at midnight was the
| last.
Youngest showed Bravado.
Frederick, the youngest, who has all
along been the least impressed of the
three, and at all times has shown more
bravado than the others, said to Keep
er Murphy as he dressed himself;
well, l suppose by this time to-mor-
row we shall be in Undertook" evil
IDENTIFY intimating that the brothers ex-
pect their bodies to be taken for burial
to their home.
1t would be difficult to imagine any
thing more impressive than the solemn
! services i'm the room of the steel cages,
where Fathers Charbonneau and Be
LANCER. a little after Q o'clock, admin
istered to the three brothers their last
communion, Signalling their full ac-
ceptance into the faith of the Roman
BILE extent the privacy of the cere-
mony was assured, all keepers except
the death watch being excluded.
Last Words, "Be Brave, Boys"
No farewells were said, under Fathe-
Belanger's advice, until the grating q
the big steel doors which separate
them from the corridor was heard.
Then, as Willis was led from his cell
he was allowed to step over to the cells