Milford chronicle., 1926-03-05
HARRY BUTLER PAID
DEATH PENALTY ON
GALLOWS FRIDAY
CONTINUED from first page)


the walls.
All the spectators saw the face of
Butler, the slit in the cap permitting
a perfect view. After the body was
cut down the cap was removed and
placed under the pillow in the coffin.
State police and others, who ex-
amined the body after it was cut
down, said that the neck had been
broken.
Following the execution, it was
learned for the first time that But
Ter was married.
Among the witnesses at the hang
ing was Peter Steinmetz, father of
Buffers victim, who was assaulted
by the negro, in a woods near the
Steinmetz home on January 21. Mr..
Steinmetz stated that he was salts
fled with the execution. He declared
that for a time he had apprehension
that Butler might in some way es-
cape the death penalty. He added
that his daughter was removed to
her home last Wednesday from the
Milford Emergency Hospital and
was recovering slowly, from the
seven fractures of the skull and in
ternal injuries inflicted on her.
Arrival OF Prisoner
Butler arrived at the Georgetown
jail at 3:55 o'clock Friday morning
in an automobile, accompanied by
Sheriff Harry w. johnson, Deputy
Sheriff Bud Coy and Rev. Henry Y.
Arnett, presiding elder of the Della
ware Conference, African Methodist
Episcopal Church. Rev. Arnett lives
in Wilmington.
The party left the New Castle
County WOrkhOuse at Greenbank at
1910 o'clock Friday morning and
made the trip without incident.
The sheriff and his deputy went
alone to the wOrkhouse for Butler,
arriving there at 11:20 o'clock. But
ler was sound asleep in his cell at
the time, but was awakened by War
den Leach and informed that he
must dress and make ready to go to
Georgetown.
Asked by Coy how he felt, Butler
replied: mot very good" He then
dressed and accompanied his escort
to the waiting automobile. When he
entered the Georgetown Jail Butler
was taken to the prisoners rest
room, adjoining the Jail yard, where
the hanging occurred.
The negro sat on a cot in the room
for a few minutes and at 4:30 o.
clock fell asleep.
At o'clock. when two newspaper
men went to the room to talk to him,
Butler was still sound asleep. He
was not awakened.
Crowd of 1000 Waited
When Butler and his escorts ar
rived there was a crowd of almost
1000 persons, many of them from
Maryland, who crowded around the
Jail. They did not molest the pris-
Oner. Only a few recognized him as
the condemned man. The crowd be-
gan congregatfng about the vicinity
of the Jail before midnight.
By 2 o'clock Friday morning there
were at least IS automobiles, more
than half of them bearing Maryland
licenses, lined along the curbs on
Market street, which runs east and
west III lIOuL VI IuG jail
Many of the Marylanders brought
midnight lunches, consisting almost
solely Of cold canned baked beans
and bread, with them, and set up
boxes as tables on the sidewalks to
eat.
Pried Open Jail Gate
Shortly before daylight the crowd,
many of them believing that Butler
was to be executed at sunrise, as is
said to be the custom in Maryland,
obtained crOwbars and pried open
the wooden gate of the outer Jail
yard and then pried open u heavy
gate leading to the scaffold.
They climbed trees, climbed the
roof of the sheriff's house and on the
15-foot walls Of the yard, to obtain
places from which they could see the
entire execution.
A number of the men, singing
songs and playing a mouth organ
started climbing the steps of the
scaffold.
The sheriff and his deputy and
state police soon cleared the yard,
roof and scaffold of the crowd.
Couldn't Eat
At about $3.50 o'clock Buffers
breakfast was brought into his room.
1t consisted of ham and eggs, bread,
butter and coffee. Butler looked at
the food a few minutes and said,
Sorry, but it's too late now to eat.
I feel weak"
A few minutes later while talking
to the Rev. Arnett and newspaper |
reporter, he asked that the follow
ing message be conveyed to his mo-
ther and his wife, who were not in
Georgetown Friday: "Tell mother
and my wife goodbye, I am going to
Heaven. Tell them to try to meet me
there"
At $3.50 o'clock the clergyman pre-
pared the holy communion service.
At 1892 o'clock Mr.. Arnett broke the
bread representing the body OF |
Christ and poured the wine, which |
represented the blood of Christ. A
minute later Mr.. Arnett knelt down
on the cement floor beside stool |
and asked Butler to kneel with him.
Butler knelt. Mr.. Arnett then read |
the formal Methodist Episcopal COM
munion service, with Butler repeat
ing each word after him. Following
this Mr.. Arnett then prayed. At 9:4O
r'clock Butler and his spiritual ad-
Visor ate the bread and drank the
wine. At $3.50 o'clock Butler repeated
the Lords Prayer.
Those present at the brief service
were Mr.. Arnett, M. D. Hearn, con-