Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-21
|TVO MURDERERS
|DTE IN CHAIR FOR
KILLING FARMER
March and Pennington Pay
Penalty for Staying
Pinkerton
poTH SOB AND TREMBLE

so,,bIe execution under the law sub
.,,,s the electric chair for the gal
took place at 7:2O o'clock this morn
=, the death house of the Western
n'a,,sptiary at Rocltview. seven miles
bere George H. March and Ro.
Pennington, of Delaware County
-. electrocuted for the murder of $,
.l, pinkerton more than two years
fact at dawn Pennington, whimpering
q With a face Of ashcn gray. was first
" 10 the chair by two deputy wardens
~ Lee than minute he was strapped
noeition Then. at 1:22, the flash Of
.yhite handkerchief in the orange
..,ored gloom was the signal that sent
.,Sn volts through his body. Four times
ibe heavy current was hurIe1 throuEh
W, before he was pronounced dead by
~ su rrison physicians Tho electrical APP
ua,atng worked without accident There
~ no ronvulSivc movement Of Pcnning-
'oa's muscles to Indicate that he was not
smsd nv the first application of cleo
trcity
Tho charge was gradually dropped
,.,,, otOO TO 600 volts and Mt 1929 o'clock,
nr Robert j. Campbell pronounced Penn
ngton dead
trnreryed by tho purrinE Of the dynamo
arectly under the death chamber, only q
ssv feet from his cell. the deputies found
March sobbng when they went for him to
solow his felluw-slayer to the chair. with
elbows ON knees and face buried in his
hands. he cried, "Oh, Roland, why didn't
they take me first?
over and over again he hcmoaned the
f,te that decrecd he should suffer greater
agony in those II minutes that had passed
since Pennington was led away than at
,ny time since he was denied Communication
Of the death sentence.
come, George" said n deputy Brush
irg away his tears and quickly reEaining
Ms composurc, March rose TO his feet
steadily and with the attendants, one on
either side of him. walked firmly down the
long corridor to his death
He was strapped into the instrument of
death the signal was flashed to the olli-
cial executoncr. and once more the whtr-
ring dynamos rose to a higher pitch as the
death-dealng current flung the body of
the condemned man outward against the
straps with snap like the crack Of a
whip Although four charges were APP
piled to March also It was apparent that
y
passed through his body. He died at 7:42
o'clock.
The execution was in great, bare room
containing only the switchboard, the chair
and a stone bench for the witnesses and
guards. Painted on the gray walls and
on all the doors and corridors leading to
Il is the single word Silence" in red and
gilt letters. The signs were not needed
The six witnesses, prescribed by law. were
white and spccChlcsS when the door to the
oellrOOm was thrown open. Although four
other electrical executions had been held,
the guards were as ncrve-raCkcd as the
Witnesses. Their faces We're ashcn as
those of the condemned men Warden
John Francics, who is opposed to capital
punishment, did not attend. He remained
at his residence, more than Il mile from
the eectrocutiOn building.
With the prison chaplain and the Rev.
c L, Yocum of Bcllcfonte. leading the
seath march began at 1913. The religious
advisors, who gave communion to March
and Pennington last night, chantcd the
5lst Psalm as they entered the death
chamber.
March, after his weeping spell, went to
his death stOiCally He looked about the
chamber coolly, even braZcnly. As the
chest strap was adjusted he complained,
In murmur audible TO all witnesses, that
i was too tight. But it was not loosened.
March turned to the guard placing the
headplece and asked that the heavy
leather mask not be pulled too tight"
The bodies were claimed by the fathers
Of both March ana Pennington and will
pe sent TO Delaware County for burial.
More than two years have passed since
March and Pcnninr on murdered S. Lewis
t.ngs
County and ovcrseer of the Wilson farm.
They lured him into a barn at dusk on
me evening of Saturday. November Z,
and beat him to death with a blackjack
Plnkerton a young man. popular and
ambitious, was overScor on the g. Scar
mg Wilson estate, Brick House Farm, in
tle township of l:dgcmont March and
remington worked for him on the farm
The murder was brutal. the circum-
.Ances gruesomc. The muTdercrs planned
Ihelr crime in an old springhousc on the
n'eK House Farm property. They hoped
!" petter their position by removing Pin
asrtoh ~ Young Pennington got so from
ue uead mans pocket as the body lay
S, Sesiue the grave they dug for it i'm Lauter-
sach ~ woods. He spent the money play
ms pool March's actual share i'm the
Ipol,s OF the murder was an overcOat the
Ssau man Wore. March, the testimony
,goWed' had worked himself into a jealous
~ because he believed the farm over
~ was calling too often 10 see Marie ,
,.Iss'se Barber his cOmmun-iaw wife lie
~ young Pennington, it was testified,
,a sAt Ne would be made Overseer If Pinker- |
~ ~. we're rubbed out" and, once over |
ne would pay Pennington more.
me murder planned, Pennington bought |
= paeklack and, as the day daTkened. !
n sE INTO the great barn maintained on !
~ Brick House Farm, lie was ready |
teish business should he have been |
'''prised In there. but he was not
Flhkerton, the oyerseer, walked into the |
s-In 49, Bennington pretended to be feed |
ls the horses, lie called Pinkerton over
DIG box stall, and at that moment |
'h NJ arrived at the barn door, Both |
NV toid in detail how Pinkerton was |
h ~, ~ SO the knowledge of what followed |
nv rsV lanterns on the barn floor and |
~ lsht from the door barely relieved |
y ,ssttsom s'oom of the barn. Pinkerton was |,
'l44iy surprised.
az ne oent his head to look at the bot |
,on az Gt the box stall as young Penning- |
Nm .!ected, and was hit smashing blow |
gsesd 'Ie ne blackjack behind his ear. lie |
,sl Pennington said
nips,"nlh "hat the H. you doing, PEN
AM ~ NJ says he cried. II hit him again" |
ne me me- murderer. and he grabbed at |
nam, NJ ne were down and up a good |
goo6 ,,i!es' lines but finally l got him down |
m m "'h me on top. He was hollerng |
isra i,,ile, l kept on hitting him in the /
~ WIN the blackjack
hen csalled George, George, help me- |
ZEN ueorge March came in. He had |
naftsr" r"Sitlng just outside. What's the |
Iiek W., lew says George. Did horse |