Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1903-10-07
VAN WORMERS EXECUTED
Three Brothers Die at Dannemora
For Killing Their Uncle.
ALL OVER IN FIFTEEN MINUTES

Willis, the Eldest. the First to Go: Then
Fred. the Youngest, and burton the
Last-Each Goes to the Death Chnir
Without Tremor or Faltcr i'm
His Steps.
Dannemora. y. Y.-Thc three Van
Wormer brothers. Willis. Burton and
Frederick, were put to death i'm tho
electric chair in Clinton prison between
ll.3' and Ills o'clock in the morninr,
or the day fixed for execution for thc
murder of their uncle. Peter \. Hal
Ienheck, in the village of Grccndolo
Columbia County. on Christmas Eve
two years ago.
ne hrst to die was Willis. the eldest
chosen because Warden George Devo
thought him To he physically the weak.
est oil the three and so most liable In ,
breakdown. Frederick. the vounrcsf
OF the brothers. followed Willis to Tho
ueath chamber. and Burton went to his
doom last
ne execution was pronounced by the
experts who witnessed it to be the
nioS' skiiltul that ever took place in
80 F'"'u' uc tErcc men went To
thelr death calmly and broVelv and
'neir deaths were erHabSolutcly without in.
cldent except for the audihly nur.
INJURED prayers of the Youngest who
uled with the name of the Deity ON his
HpS. ana the fact that Willis. the eld-
'Sl, assisted the Keepers who were
StrapplnS him into the death chair. i'm
adjusting the fnstcningS.
ne time that elapsed between thc
entrance of the first of the three mon
INTO the death room ana the decl,r,.
non hy Prison Physician Ransom tbnt
lhe third man was dead was fifteen
minutes. The official time taken bv tho
attendants was sixteen minutes and
twenty seconds. Nearly two minutes
q, tiiIS liine was occupied 10y the six
ph!Si',anS present in examining Bur
ION body with II Stethoscopc after
DR.. Ransom had examined him ana
found him To be dead.
The official table of time. to use tne
nlrc and cold formula in which DIR
hahSom announced it. is as follows:
Nlllls-poor. 11.30.40; irst current.
li,o"'fo; second current, 11.3G. 10. third
current 1l.3G.4O; declared dead,
Fred-Door. 11.41.25: first current
ll.42.1 10; second current, 11.42.4J: third
current. 1l.43.20; declared dead.
IL 14I.5O
Burton-Door. 11.47.O5: first current
ll.l'.oo; second current. 1l.4S.3O: third
current ll4o.30; declared dead.
OF this time but two minutes and
1orty seconds were consumed in fnsten.
ing the men into the chair and fom
minutes fifteen seconds for killiuo tho
tnfee. From The time that the first
Vlctiln entered the death room until the
iaSt body had been removed to the
ihorGue was seventeen minutes.
me conduct of the three men i'm
meeting their deaths was said by
warden Deyo to have been far better
than he had dared to hope for. The
executions were devoid OF those Incl
uents that have made many previous
executions by electricity offensive.
ms triple execution raises to n total
OF SeVenty-three the list of the mnr-
uererS who have died in the electric
chair during the sixteen wears since
that form of death method superseded
Tie gallows. The execution OF three
brothers at one time is not unpregc.
dented. On June . 1929. for murder
ing pcddler. three brothers. Nelson.
israel. Ir.. and Isaac ThayCr-of Bos-
Ton. Erie County. were banged on =
Triple gallows in q public square in
Buffalo
Within the same walls in which the
executions occurred is confined the
van WormerS' comradc in the murder
OF Peter \. Hallenbeck on Christmas
Eve. 1901. Harvey Bruce. their cousin.
VINO saved his life and insured their
conviction by turning States evidence
ana Fastened the crime upon the three
brothers. He is serving sentence of
elGhteen years. which will ,.r cut by
good conduct 10 eleven years and two
months