Blandford, Wimborne and Poole Telegram. — 1877-07-27 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

EXECUTION OF A BOY.  The hanging of Jack Thomasson, a boy, fifteen years old, has taken place at La Grange, Georgia. In December last, Thomasson, apparently in a fit of jealously, arising during play, Ikilled two children, aged eight and two respectively, while their parents were away at work. On their return to the house they found Rebecca, the eldest, carefully propped up against the wall of the house, the whole top of her head torn off and the blood and brains falling over her body, and Melvin., the baby, lying on the floor, with her bead crushed and her throat literally cut from ear to ear. The boy Thommson had, it appeared, a decided mania for torturing children : he had taken a little child that was left in his care, and, tying a cord about its neck, hail hung it out of the window, from which perilous position it was rescued just in time to save its life ; that he had frequently, without provocation or excuse, beaten children until he had nearly killed them ; and he had cut a heavy stick the day before the murders, and had said "some nigger will sweat with this stick." In the absence of direct proof as to who committed the murder, a curious superstition was practised. A notion had long pervaded the minds of the negroes to the effect that if a number of people were to march by the corpse of a murdered person, and lay their hands upon the wounds, the blood would break out afresh as the hand of the undiscovered murderer touched them. The two little pine coffins were brought out, and the mutilated corpses of the children placed in full view. The aimple-minded negroes touched the corpses one after the other, with no effect, until at last Jack came up. It was discovered that he hail tried to escape making the trial for a long time, and hail only yielded through necessity. As it was, he was horribly frightened, when he approached the corpses, and could hardly muster the courage to lay his hands upon their wounds. At length, however, amid breathless silence, he touched the terrible spots one after the other. Of course no blood flowed at the touch, and Jack moved on. The great body of the negroes at once cleared him of all suspicion, the "trick" having settled the matter in their opinion. He afterwards, however, confessed the crime. At the execution, the boy approached the gibbet very reluctantly, showing a great deal 4,f agitation and fear. During the religious services he became more composed, and the twitching of his face showed that he was suffering acutely and was making a desperate struggle to appear composed. Though he had repeatedly said that he had nothing to say, when the black cap was being adjusted lie begged permission to make is last talk on earth. He said in alluding to the murder, " I don't know why I killed them. I suppose the devil was in me." While he was admonishing his hearers, especially the boys, to let his fate be s warning to them, and that the wages of sin was death, he saw the father of the murdered children in the crowd, and, turning to him entreated him in a very pleading tone to forgive him, as Christ had. The father, with some hesitancy and much emotion, said that he would. In speaking of spritual matters he said that he hail put faith inJesus, and he was saved; that he had no longer a dread of yawning hell, but that he forgave everybody—the judge, jury, goalors, and everybody—and hoped to meet them all in heaven. He was then placed on the trap of the gibbet, the noose adjusted, the tigger sprung, and he was dangling at the end if the rope. As the trap fell be called out, "Meet me in Heaven " The words had scarcely left his lips when the rope tightened about his neck. The fall ~f the drop was six feet, but ' his neck was not broken, and, as usual in Georgia, he j was straneled ti death, he struggling violently and dying hard ii 3 twelve minutes.