Smyrna times., 1920-12-01
THOMAS, NEGRO ASSAILANT
MRS TALLEY, PAYS PENALTY
SMILES ON WAY TO GALLONS AT
EXECUTION LAST FRIDAY
Had Been Reprieved Two Times and
Sentence Was Carried Out Upon
Failure of Pardon Board to Act

Failure of Pardon Board to Act
Ernest Thomas, negro 21 years old,
paid the penalty for his assault last
July on Mrs. Emma Talley, a white
woman of Dexter's Corner, Blackbird
Hundred, on the gallows at the New
Castle County Workhouse Friday
morning. With a smile on his lips
and the statement that he was fully
prepared to go, the man mounted tn
platform to his execution with a firm
step. To question of Warden NJ. S.
Plummer whether he had anything to
say, Thomas replied in steady voice
that he had made his peace with God
and that he had nothing to fear.
Thomas entered the death chamber at
1892. Only one minute was required
to adjust the moose and make final
arrangements for his death. The trap
was sprung at 1898. Eighteen and
one-half minutes later, the attending
physicians, Doctors Taleasin A. Davis,
w. o. LaMotte and John Ball. pro-
nounced the man dead.
Thomas was attended to the last by
his spiritual advisors, Rev. Henry Y.
Anett, pastor of Bethel A. U. NJ. E.
Church; Captain John E. Roseman, of
the Volunteers of America and Rev.
James M. Grant, of st. 4,atrick's R. C.
Church. In accordance with the re-
quest of the dead man that small
floral remembrance be placed on his
coffin, Mrs. NJ. S. Plummer, wife of the
warden, sent pretty spray of roses,
winch were buried with him. The
death jury was composed of Harry A.
Bickta, John S. Lattomus, William R.
Warren, Fred Fleetwood, Joseph C.
Galloway, William R. Minor, Ralph
E. White, James F. Hoey, H. R. Bar
tenslager, Walter H. Hartlove, ThOs.
B. Haugh and William Lyons, Jr. The
other witnesses to the execution COM
lprised Captain William Palmer and
Lieutenant William H. Biggans, of
the Pennsylvania Railroad police rep
resentatives of the Wilmington news
papers and the workhouse officials
| The execution is the first to be held
at the Workhouse since the triple
hanging three years ago in the fall of
1917.
History OF the HeinOus Crime
The crime for which Thomas paid
the death penalty was committed last
July. He was arrested by Chief OF
Police Lee Cochran shortly afterwards
given a hearing before Magistrate H
l. Gillis and held for the grand jury
At the September term of Court OF
Oyer and Terniner he was found gull
ty and sentenced to be hanged Oct
29. Only a day before the sentence
was to be carried out, he was repriev-
ed and an examination made as to his
mental soundness. The reprieve was
made for two weeks thus extending
until November II. This reprieve wal
then extended by Governor Townsend
to permit further examination of tn,
mans mental capacity and the date o.
execution postponed until Novembe
26. Only two days before the end O
the term of reprieve November "a, tn
board of pardons, acting on the repor
of examining physicians, decided tn
report did not warrant a change O
the sentence from death to life i'm
prisonment as had been suggested
Thomas spent very good night, h
said, sleeping well after about
o'clock although restless during tn
early part of the night. He break
tasted at 8 o'clock on corn flakes an
milk, call he wanted" he said, an
seemed in good spirits. He talke
cheeIfully with the newspaper me
and with his spiritual advisors. H
seemed to take great consolation
] repeating the Twenty-third Psalm
"The Lord is my Shepherd, shall NJ
q | want