Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1910-07-29
Utah Has Remarkable Law
State Where Condemned Man May Chose Method of
Death Penalty -

square. constructed OF new boards.
Behind the Platform was a box-hke
structure, five teet high and two feet
thick. This was filed with dirt, its
purpose being to catch the bullets
alter they have passed through the
prisoners body, to prevent their
glancing from the wall and endanger-
ng the lives of lpectators.
Just opposite the death char,
across the driveway, which, is 80
feet wide, is a low brick building,
about 100 feet long north and south,
used as the prison blacksmith shop
Double doors opened on the driveway.
These were pushed aside on the day
of the execution ard a curtain OF
denim hung in their place. At the
height of a mans shoulder five round
holes had been cut at regular inter-
walls, and a foot or 20 higher other
holes of irregular shape appeared.
Behind this curtain were stationed
the executioners. Their identity was
known only to the warden of the pen
itentiary, the Sheriff and a few
trusted deputies.
"A wire at the north end of the
blacksmith shop, extending to the OPP
posite wall, shut off the spectators.
Just outside of the wire were tables
and chairs for newspaper reporters
Before the armJ of the prisoner
were strapped to the chair with new
leather straps he shook hands all
around with the guards, but he could
rot see whose hand he was shaking.
His ankles were then strapped to the
lower rounds of the chair.
"The time of the strapping seemed
interminable. After a final test OF
the straps to see that they were Sc
cureIy ia tened, the officials retreated
to the chair and the blacksmith shop,
with it's suggestive black holes.
'Mortensen's head alone was free.
1t was slightly inclined forward. He
could not see the curtained ambush
with its threatening black apertures.
Perhaps his strained hearing may
have caught the sound as the black
nosed rifes-fve of them-were
pushed through the openings and lev
eled at the white piece of paper
pinned over the doomed mans heart.
The rifles had been loaded by the
Sheriff, four Of them with fatal bull
| lets and the fifth with a blank car
fridge. The executiOners did not
know which gun carried the blank
load so that none would know
whether or not he had helped carry
the death sentence into effect.
blinded and helpness, the prisoner
must have awaited in awful suspense
the winged death. No one moved or
spoke. The Sheriff gave the firing
signal. A sudden crash came, accom-
panied by jets of flame from the rifle
muzzles. No smoke appeared, as
smokeless powder was used. A ply
stefan fastening to the prisoners side
found that his pulse had ceased"
The second execution in Utah his
tory wa, indeed, spectacular, 1t was
that of John d. Lee, who was con-
nected with the famous Mountain
Meadow massacre, which is one or
the greatest blots on Utah's history.
One hundred emigrants on their way
from the East to California, in 1857,
were murdered by Lee and his band
in Iron County, Utah. Only few
children of the party were spared.
Lees band was composed of Indians,
and they were helped by Higbee's
battalion of the Nauvee Legion.
1t was 20 years after the deed was
committed before Lee suffered the
penalty for it. Then he was exc
cuted by shooting on the scene of the