New Britain herald., 1926-04-05
CHAPMAN GOES ID
 DEATH CELL AT | Guards PracticinS Execution for
 Three Weeks PRIEST WITH PRISONER
Tonigh's Execution First In New Death House-Lawyers For Chap man Will Provide Private Burial Tor Notorious Gunman,

man Will Provide Private Burial
 Tor Notorious Gunman,
 Wethersfield Prison, Conn, April 5 P)-Gerald Chapman, a slender, little outlaw who shot n policeman 10 death when surprised while rob ping a safe nearly two years ago, will be the first victim of Connecti- cuts new hanging machine at mid night.
 It's a grotesque thing, but merci- full, this hanging machine which yanks q man to the ceiling and then gives him an additional jerk as he comes down.
 At the far end of the Insane pris- oners' wing and down two flights of stairs, is the death cell. Chapman will walk down the stairs al six o'clock this evening and take his place in the cell to await his ap- pointmcnt with death.
 IItt bthtn lndtnDtT The death room adioins the death cell. Ii is an ordinary room, small, square and about 12 feet high. Only the new manila rope which hangs ominously from a pulley in the cen- ter of the ceiling gives any indica- ton of Its use. That and the dark colored square of mosaic directly under the moose.
 From the pulley In the centcr of the death chamber ceiling, the rope disappears into another room. There in the ceiling of that room is anoth- CT pulley over which the rope winds. At the end of the roap Is @ heavy sand bag. There is a trigger in this side chamber, which releases the heavy weight. A peep hole in the wall gives ample room for the Cx- ecutioner to see the signal given ty the warden, No one knows who the person is that releases the trigger.
 Priest With Hin
 Those last six hours will pass all too quickly. Only Father Michael P, Barry, Catholic chaplain at the states prison, will keep Chapman company.
 When, al the hour Of 12. the pris- on clock strikes the end of the con- dcmned mans third repricve. 1t will be Father Barry who will hold the crucifiC aloft and lead the death party slowly into the next chamber. At the side of Father Barry will be the warden and behind them will come Chapman with a guard on each side. Four more guards, two abreast, will bring up the rear.
 Will Gaze On CruCiix
 Chapman will be dressed in a suit of black and white linen. He will step out of comparative darkness into the brightly lighted death chamber. Father Barry will hold the crucifiN before his face. to dis tract, if possible, the condemned mans attention from the marked spot on which he must step.
 The end will come quickly. One Epard will pass & strap three times about Chapman's ankles and buckle it. Another will place strap around the condemned mans legs, iust above the knees. A third will strap Chapman's hands in front of him while n fourth win pinion his arms 10 his sides hy a strap which passes around his body just above the elbows.
 Guards rracticing
 These guards have been practicine for weeks. There will be no hitch. Almost before Chapman knows it. the little, black bag which will shut the world from his sight forever, will be placed over his head. Almost be fore the guards can step back the ond will come.
 The attorneys who have stood so Staunchly through his long fight for freedom, have already put in a claim for the bandits body. He will he buried privately in Hartford. they say. After tomorrow Chapman's story will take its place among those i of others who have gambled with 1 the law and lost.
 MRS. HUNGERFORD ILL
 Mrs. William C. Hungerford. wife 1 Of Judge w. C. HuuEerford, is crit irally III at her home on Russell 1