The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-24
Surprise Witness Called By Special Prosecutor Aom To Identify Ledges
Mel Call Reads Story Of
 His Innocence In Chair
tContinued from Page D

momentarily and said:
 Put it as high up on the leg as you can"
 Rev. Leslie A. Shepherd, prison chaplain, prayed while Mccall read.
 A black leather hood was placed over McCall's head ct ii:06 a. m, EST. - the second he finished reading his statement,
 Then the doomed man began re- beating, after Rev. Shepherd, from the 2Srd Psalm:
 'The Lord is my Shepherd. l shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures"
 Switch Is Thrown
 Then Sheriff D. 0. Coleman of Miami threw the switch, It was li:08 @. m. and 2,300 volts of elec- tricity jolted McCall's body against the straps that imprisoned him in the big oaken chair.
 Drs. w. E. Murphy, of the prison staff, and Kenneth Phillips, Miami, pronounced Mccall dead ct li:l6 e. m,
 Mccall, always well-groomed, en- tered the rectangular death cham Der at 10:59 0. m, He was dressed in Q checkered suit and wore hat over his shaved head. He did not remove the hat until the leather mask was placed over his face and head. Mccall died in the execution chamber of the state prison farm, His last hope of escaping the death penalty had vanished when justices of the U. s. supreme court and the U. s. circuit court declined to inter- vene. Mccall, however, had seemed confident to the very end that he would never pay with his life for the kidnap-slaying of the little boy, whom he used to play with and take fishing when he was employed by J. B. Cash, father of the victim. Only when Q guard called "come on Mac" did Mccall show any out ward sign of emotion. Mccall, at the command, half smiled and started the death march -l0 steps from his cell No. to the chair.
 Visited by Relatives Shortly before Mccall walked the "last mile" he was visited by his young wife, Claudine; his brother Byrd Mccall; and an uncle, Rev. A. o. Mccall. The doomed man at that time was the calmest of the four. During his last hour of life he sought religious solace and spiri- tual comfort from Rev. Leslie Shepherd, prison chaplain
 Even during the last ib minutes Mccall was calm and collected. He knew the i4 attempts by his attor- neys through courts and tho pardon board had failed. But he felt con- fident that there would Do c last minute break to save him. He had been scheduled to die last Monday. Ninety minutes before his execution time that day he was giv- on Q four day stay SO his case could be appealed to the U. s. supreme court.
 Two supreme court justices turned down his appeal yesterday. closing the last avenue of escape from the chair.
 Death Scene
 At i0:4b .. m, tEsT) Sheriff D. 0. Coleman read the death warrant to Mccall in his cell. Mccall was taken by two guards Into the death chamebr c few min- utes after Il Q. m.
 The switch was thrown ct ii:0e a, mp and he was pronounced dead at ll:i8 Q. m. by Dr.. Walter Mur. phree, prison physician.
 Weary Attorneys Fall
 Mccall slumped in death row cell No. while his attorneys, weary from the fight to halt tho execution, finished an all.night conference without finding an avenue Of escape. Joe Hill Williams of Lake Butler, one Of tho condemned mans law yers, told the United Press that i've conferred all night and were un. able to find any other move to make In MeCall's behalf. He will die ct il o'clock unless something unforeseen happens and I don't know what that could be."
 Tho four.day stay granted before MeCalls scheduled execution Mon- day expired with every means of es- cape apparently beyond reach, Mccall received the news that his attorneys had given up hope with-