The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1875-01-09 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

EXECUTION IN LONDON.  James Cranwell, aged 50, who was convicted at the last sessions of the 'Central Criminal Court of the murder of a woman named Emma Bellamy by beating her on the head with a shoemaker's hammer and cutting her throat, was executed on Monday morning within the gaol of Newgate. The prisoner, who was a widower, had met the deceased casually in a public-house, about five weeks before the fatal occurrence; and although it was proved that he had previously been a sober, well conducted man, the connection seemed to have led to a career of drink and dissipation. The deceased was a married woman, but separated from her husband, and it was suggested at the trial that the prisoner committed the act out of a feeling of anger at discovering that.the deceased was not a widow, as she had represented, and that he could not marry her.  The prisoner went to bed early on Sunday night, but he slept very little, and got up and dressed himself about six o'clock. Shortly afterwards he was visited by the ordinary, the Rev. Mr. Lloyd Jones, the sltrgeon, Dr. Gibson, and Mr. Sidney Smith, the governor. To the ordinary he frequently expressed his regret for the crime, and a hope that he should be pardoned in another world. Mr. Alderman and Sheriff Ellis, Mr. Sheriff Shaw, and the under-sheriffs, arrived at the prison shortly after half-past seven o'clock, and a little before eight, Mr. Sydney Smith, the governor of Newgate, introduced them to the cell of the prisoner. He was quite calm and collected, although it was evident that it required an effort on his part to subdue his excitement. He thanked all the officials for the kindness he had received from them, and submitted to the operation of pinioning without saying a word, except to request the executioner—Marwood, of Leicester— not too pinion him too tightly. The prison bell at this moment began to toll, and the officials proceeded to the scaffold, the ordinary reading the burial service in an impressive manner.  While the executioner was placing the cap over the prisoner's face he asked him not to put it too much over his mouth, and in a very few seconds all was ready, and the drop fell. The rope appeared to be of extra length, for after the platform had been dropped nothing was visible but a portion of the rope, and the body of the culprit was entirely hidden from view. The prisoner was a tall, fine man and he appeared to struggle for two or three minutes before life was extinct.  At the moment of the execution a black flag was hoisted at the entrance of the gaol, and the usual certificate was signed by the sheriffs, the governor, and the surgeon of the prison, notifying that the sentence of the law had been duly executed. A coroner's inquest was held upon the body during the day in conformity with the provisions of the Act of Parliament.  Since the last execution at Newgate an entirely new apparatus has been constructed for the execution of criminals. Formerly a portion of the old scaffold had been utilised for the purpose, and the culprit had to walk up a ladder, and to mount several steps. This was obviously inconvenient, especially in the case of a prisoner who might faint, or who required assistance; and the old scaffold has been done away with, and an entirely new one, level with the ground, erected, the floor being similar to a cellar flap, and when the drop falls, the culprit is almost entirely hidden from view.