Bridgeton pioneer. (Bridgeton, N.J.) 1884-1919, 1905-02-16
FRANK RASINCER PAYS
THE AWFUL PENALTY

potatoes and cake. No coffee, for he
did not drink coffee.
He was perfectly calm and collected,
showed not the least sign of nervous
| ness, talked with his death watch,
Constable David Simpkins, in the
calmest and most rational manner.
He said he was ready to go at any
time.
just before 8 O'Clock his spiritual
advisers entered his cell and religious
| services were begun and kept up for
two hours. Rasinger joined heartily
in the singing and knelt and prayed
i at intervals. Such hymn were sung
as ''All sorrow will be over when T
get home,'' ''This is my story, this
is my song, son, how I love Jesus, .
"Golng home to die no more and
others.
A few minutes before ten o. clock
the march was taken up for the gal
lows. Rasinger, with his hands
shackled behind him. walked bare
headed between his death watchers.
Constable R. F. Ayars and Constable
David Simpkins. He wore a pleasant
look. almost half smile, on his face
as he glanced up at the gallows, rails.
ing his eyes off the icy ground. as he
had been picking his way. He walked
nimbly up the steps, rather in advance
of the constables, who, however, kept
| hold of his arms. The Sheriff was
slightly in advance, but fell back a
step on the scaffold as he took the
black cap from his pocket, unrolled it
and threw the paper away in which it
mad been wrapped. The constables
/ released their hold on Rasinger and
stepped back and for fraction of a
second Rasinger stood alone on the
scaffoId.
Then Sheriff Diament quickly pulled
the zap over the victim s head, and
adjusted the moose around his neck.
1t took but few seconds.
l Horrible Spectacle.
Sheriff Diament stepped back and
instantly pulled the lever, and then
the unlocked for happened. The trap
| fell and the body shot downward quick
as lightning, the rope broke and the
body fell to the icy ground beneath.
The rope broke with a clean break
and like log the body of Frank Ra-
singer lay on it's back-the head
towards the Jail and the feet towards
the barn. The legs shook with two or
three tremors and then was still.
Men rushed beneath the scaffold,
seized the body, passed the rope to
other men who had rushed up the
scaffold. among them the constables
who seized the rope and held it as the
body was raised from the ground and
left swinging on the rope as the men
above held it.
Most fortunately the neck was
broken in the fall and death, as far as
senslbility was concerned, was in
Simultaneous, the knot having slipped
around to the back of his neck. Doc
tors Sites, D. r. Streets, d. S. Oil.
yer and Faulner, with their watches,
timed the pulse.
The drop fell at 9. 81; at 10. OF his
| pulse was about 80 and then 6 to 20
and SO on until 1908 when he was
| pronounced dead, and Frank Rasinger
had paid the penalty for the cruel
murder OF his wife at MONDAY on the
18th of October last.
To the last he stuck to the confession
made on the witness stand he denied
1 to his spiritual advisers having made
"a confession to Ananias Wentzell re-
GENTLY or at any time, and said that
he had no cause to have killed his
wife, and he was very foolish, he
said, to have allowed the fear of what
she might say induce him TO kill her.
He said he started three times to get
the gun to shoot her, and his thought
was to shoot her and then commit sui
eide, as he had stated on the witness
stand at his trial that he attempted to
i do.
i Rasinger wore new suit of black
and looked neat and genteel as he as
i cended the scaffold.
The body was cut down at about
1915 and given in charge of the under
takers, Pierce & CARL, and taken to
their morgue.
/ Rasinger expressed his fullest conf
| dence to his spiritual advisers of his
ultimate salvation and showed not the
slightest fear to meet his fate.
Purchased the House.