The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-04-06
ARCH BANDITS
CAREER ENDS
ON GALLONS
Last Reprieve Expired at
Midnight-Hanging Took
Place at 1904
PRIEST CLAIMS BODY
Homes of Prominent State Of.
ficials We're Guarded
During Night

Wcthcrsficld, Conn, April 6.--tR
Gerald Chapman's sensational car
Ger Of crime ended on the galiows at
l2:0 o'clock this morning.
Showing little emotion. he stepped
under the moose Of Connccticut's new
hanging machine and was executed
for the murder Of Policeman James
Skclley of New Britain. in a depart
ment store robbery October IL, 1924.
Seven minutes and five seconds
later physicians pronounced him
dead. Thus ended ut 3S Il life Of
crime that began when he was l6, led
him in and out of prison and made
his name byword in every police
station in the country.
As Chapman, whose real name was
George Chartres. started for the exc
cution chamber ut one minute after
midnight, the prison chaplain, the
Rev. Father Michael +. Barry, took
his place ut the condemned mans
side. Father Barry has claimed the
robbers body for burial in Hartford
today.
A $l,454 200 mail truck robbery in
New York, an escape from Atlanta
federal pcnitcntiary, and another cs-
cape from hospital at Athens. Ga,
were among the high spots in the
criminals career
Had Three Rcpricvcs
Three times had Chapman been re-
prevcd in last minute efforts Of his
counsel to save his life. His last
rcpricvc expired last night at mid
night A minute later he began his
march to death.
A small blue chalked circle on the
floor Of the death chamber marked
the end Of Chapman's life journey.
He did not see on the wall moose
in new hempen rope. for before the
moose was thrown over his neck, "a
black cap was thrown over his head.
An instant later Connecticut's auto
matte hanging machine, used for the
first time, had jerked the man into
the air with two distinct motions.
The body made half spin in the
air and there were convulsive mo-
tiOns. particularly noticeable in the
twitching Of the feet, then at the end
of the rope swung an inert body. its
momentum checked by the hand Of
Il guard on either side who could just
reach the ankles.
Face Flushed
Chapmans face had slight flush
as he entered the chamber. He pierc-
ingly glanced to the right and tncn
to the left, sweeping the audience
with his brilliant eyes. His last look
before the black cap shut out the
light was towards corner in which
were the windlass and weights Of the
hanging machine. A pressure of the
warden's foot upon a plungcr' in
corner Of the death chamber put the
machine in operation.
Immediately after the hanging the
body was lowered till the feet touch
ed the floor. Physicians examined
the body with stcthoscopes. Then
guard with jack knife cut off the
lashing ends Of the rope where It
had been made into IL hangman's knot,
and the body was removed from the
room in an undertakcrs basket.
Chapman paid the extreme penalty
after the most eventful days in the
states criminal history. He had
personally appeared ut the prison
before the board Of pardons, over
which Governor Trumbull presided,
and pleaded for tommutation Of sem
tence to life Imprisonment. He spoke
for 81 minutes. He INDUCED in sar-
casm and invective at the states at
torney. He demanded more time in
fer new witnesses and new evidence
Of his innocence.
Tells Attorneys Good Bye"
Back i'm his cell Chapman said
good bye. old pals" to his attorneys
and they filed in Hartford petition
for new trial, but the document
was Of no value as Governor Trum-
bull refused another reprieve.
Rum0rs were many but none had
any substance in fact. One story was
that car laden with dynamite had
been driven towards the state prison
and another was that this same car
was in Plainville, the home Of Gov
ernor Trumbull.
In view Of rumOrs. the state po-
lice took precautions to protect Gov
ernor Trumbull. States Attorney
Hugh NJ. Alcorn, who prosecuted
| Chapman, and Superior Court Judge
Newell Jennings. who sentenced him.
: State troopers were at the home of
the state officers.
States Attorney Alcorn, informed
Of the rumbrs, remarked: 1T
wouldn't surprise me what that Chap
man gang might do"
A Varied Life
Gerald Chapman led varied Grim
mai lie Tor ~ years, starting Wnen
he was mere youth Of lG. He he
! came known to the police Of the ma
tion as u "super bandit"
His earlier crimes. however. were
mostly petty larcenies and it was not
unti! !e2l when he engineered the
daring "million dollar" mail robbery
in the heart Of New York City. that
he staged his biggest "job." His ar
rest followed few months later and
then came two sensational escapes
from the federal penitentiary at At
lanta, where he had been sentenced
for twenty-five years.
After his final escape, he eluded
nation-w wide hunt until 1924. wnen
he was captured after shooting and
Killing a New Britain. Conn, police
man.
Possessed of ar intelligence higher
than that Of the criminal Of his type,
and fairly we'll read, he aided his
counsel in carrying his appeal from
conviction through the high courts.
George ChAItreG
He was born George Charities, the
SON Of Irish parents who died VIXEN