The Idaho Republican., 1916-08-11
EASEMENT MET DEATH
WITH CALM COURAGE

LONDON.-A coroner's jury found
that the execution of Roger Sasement
who was hanged at o'clock, Thurs
day, August 3, in Pentonville jail for
high treason, had been carried out in
"a humane manner.
According to a news agency, Case
ment had high hopes of being re-
prieved until the eve of his execution.
He did not hide the fact that he ex-
pected his many powerful friends
would obtain for him free pardon,
because many of them exercised no
little influence in political as we'll as
literary circles.
When Hope Left
GAS there was no sign of reprieve
last night" this account says, the
condemned man became very morose
and hardly spoke at all. He did, how
ever. inquire about the Zeppelin raids
and asked if any German airships
had reached London. Soon after
wards he became resigned to his fate
and after he had done considerable
amount of writing retired to rest and
slept soundly.
"When aroused Easement showed
considerable nervousness, but he was
quite collected and thanked the
wardens for the many little kind
nesses they had shown him while he
occupied the death CELL"
Two hours before the execution a
crowd of men, women and children
gathered before the prison gates.
Twenty minutes before Easement
mounted the scaffold the great prison
bell commenced to toll. The sound
was greeted with cheers from the
crowd, mingled with some groans. At
9 O'Clock the crowd had swollen to
such proportions that it extended for
two blocks from the prison front. At
one minute after a single stroke of
the big bell announced that the trap
had been sprung. 1t was the signal
for a mocking, jeering yell from the
crowd, which suddenly died away in
to dead silence.
Easement met his death with calm
courage, according to eyewitnesses.
Earlier in the morning two priests of
the Roman Catholic church admins
tered the last rites in the cell of the
condemned man and shortly after
ward little procession headed by
the clergymen with Easement follow
ing, warden on either side, proceed
ed toward the execution shed, only
five yards away. The priests recited
the litany of the dying, Easement re-
spending in low tones: Lord have
mercy on my SOUL"
AS the party reached the shed
where the gallows was erected the
special eXecutioner, a hair dresser
named Ellis, approached Easement
and quickly pinioned him. The two
chaplains. the under-sheriff of Lon
don and the under-sheriff of Middle
sex then took up their positions in
front of the scaffold. Easement
mounted the gallows steps firmly and
commended his spirit to God as he
stepped on the trap. A moment later
the lever was pulled.
Immediately the trap was sprung
and the prison engineer and physic-
ian descended into the pit where, aft
er the application of the usual tests,
.SdoOuCAI was p1 uSnu oC y
minutes after 8. According to the
custom in the case of prisoners hang
ed for crimes similar to that of Case
ment his body will be buried in
quicklime in the prison yards, but
probably no decision as to the burial
will be made until after the inquest.
Ellis, the executioner, arrived in
the prison early and Immediately
made his preparations. He examined
the trap door in the execution shed
and tested it thoroughly with bag
exactly the same weight as Easement.
Ellis remained in the prison all
night.
All the members of Easements
family were Protestants and he was
brought up in that faith, but became
a convert to Roman Catholicism
within the last few weeks. On June
29 he was registered as member of
the Roman Catholic church and since
that time Fathers McCarrell and Car
ey, of Eden Grove church, near the
prison, had been ministering to him.