The Sun. — 1858-04-05 (London, England)

EXECUTION OF JOSEPH ,SHEPHERD,  AT YHRK.  Jo9eph Shepherd, the murderer of Bethel Pa!kinson' on Wadsworth Moor, near Halifax' underwent the extreme penalty of the law on Saturday at neon.  The culprit was visited on Friday night by the Rev. J. Parkes. who arrived at the condemned cell at 11 o'clock, and remained with the wretched man until 5 o'clock on Saturday morning. Shepherd, if it be possible, was more hardened than over, for when the rev. gentleman conversed with him upon the concerns of his soul, and offered up prayer in his 'behalf, he laughed aloud. Mr. Parkes rem,mstrated with the culprit, but all his efforts were of no avail. He told the prisoner that he could not expect happiness and rest in the next world if he acted in that manner, upon which he remarked, with a smile, " If there's no rest for me in the next world, I might as well have as much rest here while I stop," and then laid himself down on his bed. Several times during the night he re-asserted his innocence. He slept at intervals, and at four o'clock he went into a sounder sleep than usual. Mr. Noble, the governor, also visited the unhapyy man, and in the course of conversation he told him that if he died in his present state, and did not, repent cf his sins, he would surely go to hell. The culprit answered, "Never, I shall be all right in the snowy weather ; 1 shall be right during one half-year, when the weather's cold." The culprit also made a similar observation to Mr. Green, the deputy-governor. Shepherd was removed from the condemned cell to a room on the opposite side of the Castle-yard, and adjoining the scaffold, at about six o'clock iu the morning. When the offic-rs were ready to conduct him, the culprit walked away quietly, his nerves were unshaken, and he appeared determined to meet his fate with perfect coolness, and to retain his self-possession and fortitude to the last. On coming through the office, in which there is a clock, Shepherd looked at it, and observed the li tle pointer at six, remarked, " When that gets to toe top I shall be done for ; it will be all over then." On dressing himself he was full of joke and fun. When the officers of the prison were conducting him across the castle yard he was in high glee, and laughed as before. He looked at Clifford's Tower, and said, " That's the old tower, I suppose." Since his trial the culprit had never been heard to utter a word of prayer, and his conduct throughout had been of the most callous character. When he arrived in the apartment adjoining the scaffold, he threatened that when he was on the drop, if he had the chance, he would "knock Jack Ketch over." The culprit, since his condemnation, had expressed a wish that he could obtain arsenic and poison himself, and had said that he deserved to be hanged, although he did not murder Parkinson, still maintaining his asseveration of innocence. During the 25 years that Mr. Noble has been at York Castle, he has known about 20 men suogear I death on the scaffold, but in all his experieuecnalj, never met with a m Ike Shepherd, so 1!3,1V so callous, and so lost to alt sense of relig, arrived The Under-Sheriff (William Gra%E:iiril;l 12 he at the Castle at a quarter to 12;n 0,4 scaffold, Mr. Parkes procession made its appearauc© ftev, bY ,tis bold by Mr. Gre,n, Shepherd being attended and the gaol officials. trereveseeutioner complete, t the under-keeper, undtil opested two or three times, his arrangements, and me,,, after which the bolt inerqt the unhappy man was launched " Lord, have was withdrawv, ando btru,gled very much for a short into eternity. no confession. The weather was finee. 11° 1133C:teiining• brilliantly, and there were fin, the sun froro 10,000 to 15,000 persons present, many of whom were the country and from the neigh' boorhood of Halifax.