The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-01-05
Rope Parted When Mans Weight
Came on 1t Full
1T WAS AGAIN SUSPENDED
Condemned Man Had Nothing To Say
on the Gallows, But This Morning
He Protested His Innocence
Of the Crime.

Windsor, Jan. 5.Elroy Kent was ex-
ecuted this afternoon for the murder OF
Miss Della Congdon at East Walling-
ford on July "a, 1908. The trap was
sprung on the gallows in the west
wing OF the state prison at l;lS o'clock.
As the weight of the mans body came
full on the supporting rope, the rope
parted at point where it went through
the iron crossbeam. The mans body
was suspended again.
At Las, after an examination by four
physicians, DR.. S. H. McKewen, the pris-
on physician, made the following state
fment:
''0wing TO an accident for which no
one was responsible, the condemned
mans neck was only partially broken
! bv the fall but he suffered no conscious
ness throughout and died from the
shock
This statement was made to contradict
any statement which might go out that
| Kent died OF strangulation Those who
have seen other hangings made the
statement that there was less motion
of the body than they had ever seen
after the trap was sprung. After Kent
| had fallen to the floor when the rope
parted the rope was then thrown around
the balustrade over the gallows, and
! Kent hung there until LAS.
| An autopsy will be held this after
noon, after which the body of Kent will
| be buried in the prison cemetery. There
were the legal number of witnesses pres
ent at the execution, including some
| sheriffs from other counties and few
newspaper men.
| The gaIlows was tried out this morn
\ ing, when bag of sand weighing more
than one hundred pounds was placed on
the rope At that time everything
worked successfully.
Kent went to his death with consid-
I crable fortitude, showing great nerve at
the last few moments. He had nothing
70 say on the gallows, but he did say
10 man in the prison during this fore
noon:
II am innocent OF the crime
May Be vermont's Last Execution
This may perhaps be the last legal
execution ia Vermont Several attempts
had been made to save Kent on the
ground that the man was weak men
tally. and there had been some agita
tion Throughout the state against the
execution. As an outcome of the case,
senators and representatives favoring
abolition of capital punishment state
they will carry the campaign into the
legislature in an effort to have life inn
Lrisonment substituted for capital pun
ishment on the statute books.
Crime for Which Kent Was Executed.
The crime for which Kent was exc
cuted to-day was the murder of Della B.
Congdon at East Wallngford on July "a,
la0S. Kent had escaped from the state
insane asylum at Waterbury on July il.
Miss Congdon. who was a deaf mute, was
alone in her house in East Wallingford
and her body was found there. She had
been criminally assaulted and murdered
by choking to death.
When the authorities of Rutland couu-
ty searched for the murderer, they ran
across the initials "E K.n carved on the
buildings at the Congdon home, and as
Kent had displayed a mania while in
the asylum for cutting his initials, "E.
h." on everything he could get hold of,
shovel handles, boards in the buildings
and doors, suspicion pointed to him as
the perpetrator of the double crime.
With that clue in view, the Authorities
searched high and low for Kent, even
sending to Poughkeepsie, n. Y, for
bloodhounds, which were put on the
trail. while posses secured the country.
During the weeks Of search and until
Kent was located there was consider
able alarm in that section of Vermont
II was not till October of 1908 that
Kent was discovered and then only after
he had been arrested in Pittsfeld. Mass,
on the charge of stealing bicycle, after
which lie was identified by means Of |
the circulars sent out from Vermont. !
He was identified on October "a.
On being brought back to Vermont |
and being indicted for the murder, Kent !
was again placed in the state insane
asylum. His trial was held in Rutland |
at the March term in 1909, and !
Kent was quickly convicted of murder. |
Then, as session of the legislature |
must convene between the time of con-
viction and execution, Kent was sent !
to the state prison, where he has since
been confined.
When the question of communications
Of kent's sentence to life Imprisonment
came before the Legislature. the House
voted ls7 to "A against the third reading
Of the bill carrying the Communication.
Then Kent was sentenced TO die On
January s. this date.
Criminal Career Began at ?.
Kent had reached his 36th year, and /
much of the time from the age OF seven
years he had spent in prison or lunstic
lsylums. Kent's criminal bent asserted
itself at the tender age of seven years,
when the boy stole a stove from his
lwn home in the town of Brooklme,
while his folks were away at church,
md carried it to a log cabin he had
'ound in the. woods. In 1896 Kent was
detected while trying to break into B. NJ.
Adams store in Townshend, and for that
he was sent to the house of correction
It Rutland for two years.
Some time later. after the expiration
,f that sentence, Kent's name was con-
lected with the burglary at the Will
iamsville railroad station, when some
Mileage books were stolen.